Question

question 7 of 10

in 1921, congress passed the emergency immigration act to:

a. ban all immigration to the united states from east asia.
b. deport non-u.s. citizens living in the united states.
c. establish a quota system to reduce immigration.
d. limit immigration from southern and eastern europe.

Explanation:

Contextualize post-WWI nativist sentiments

Using the 1920s Nativism knowledge point
Following World War I, a resurgence of nativism and isolationism swept across the United States. Many Americans feared that an influx of European immigrants, particularly from war-torn regions, would compete for jobs and bring radical political ideologies like anarchism or bolshevism. This widespread anxiety put immense pressure on Congress to transition from a historically open immigration policy to a highly restrictive one.

Analyze the Emergency Immigration Act of 1921

Using the US Immigration History knowledge point
To address these nativist concerns, Congress passed the Emergency Immigration Act of 1921. This landmark legislation marked a turning point in federal policy by introducing the nation's first numerical limits on immigration. Specifically, it established a temporary quota system that capped the annual number of immigrants from any given country at 3% of the number of residents from that country living in the United States as of the 1910 census.

Evaluate the provided multiple-choice options

• Option A is incorrect because East Asian immigration had already been heavily restricted or banned by earlier laws, such as the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the Gentlemen's Agreement of 1907.
• Option B is incorrect because the act focused on regulating incoming immigration rather than organizing mass deportations of non-citizens already residing in the country.
• Option C is correct because the primary mechanism and purpose of the 1921 act was to establish a national-origins quota system to restrict the overall volume of immigration.
• Option D is incorrect as a primary definition; while the quota system disproportionately impacted immigrants from southern and eastern Europe, the explicit, broad purpose of the 1921 Act was to establish the quota system itself to reduce overall immigration.

Answer:

• (A) ban all immigration to the United States from East Asia.
• (B) deport non-U.S. citizens living in the United States.
• (C) establish a quota system to reduce immigration. (Correct answer)
• (D) limit immigration from southern and eastern Europe.