Immigration Law

They passed the first immigration laws, and it restricted the types of people allowed.

They stopped criminals, lunatics, people with contagious diseases and polygamists(mulltiple marriages) from entering.

A law of 1907 stopped unaccompanied children and imbeciles from entering.

Until 1914 America placed few restrictments on migrants.

• Required all immigrants to prove they could read English, banned all immigration from Asia, charged an immigratoin fee of $8

• Number of immigrants from the 'eastern hemisphere' could only be 3% of the number already in America in 1910
• Maximum number of immigrants in any year at 357,000

• Maximum number in any year at 154,000
• Quota for eastern hemisphere reduced to 2% of those already in America in 1890
• South and East Europe only allowed to 20,000 per year, non-Europeans only 4000

The American Dream was the hope that if a person worked hard then even the poorest person could become richer and have a better standard of living than if they stayed in their own country.