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Period: to
Chinese immigration and the Great migration
Timeline timespan -
old immigrants
More than 10 million immigrants came to the United States, most of them were Protestants from northwestern Europe. -
Newcomers
First set foot on U.S. soil on Ellis Island in New York Harbor or on Angel Island in San Francisco Bay. Both islands served as immigration stations during this period. -
The Chinese Exclusion Act
The Chinsese Exclusion Act was aprroved- first significant law restricting immigration into the U.S. -
The mob attack in Rock Springs, Wyoming Territory
28 Chinese were murdered but this didn't stop them, many Chinese immigrants still came to the United States only to be held for months at immigration stations. -
New Immigrants
About 12 million immigrants arrived on U.S. shores and the population increased by 60 percent. -
Ellis Island opened
"All newcomers who passed through Ellis Island were subjected to a physical exam. Those with mental disorders, contagious diseases like tuberculosis, or other serious health problems were deported." Those who passed the physicals were then questioned about their background, job skills, and relatives. People with criminal records or without the means to support themselves were sent back. The vast majority were allowed to stay. -
Immigration Restriction League
Immigrants were tested but despite efforts to impose restrictions, immigration continued. -
When the exclusion act was extended in the form of the Geary act
Added restrictions by requiring each Chinese resident to register and obtain a certificate of residence. Without a certificate, she or he faced deportation. -
The Great Migration began
The movement of about five million southern blacks to the north and west. -
Congress repealed all the exclusion acts
This left a yearly limit of 105 Chinese and gave foreign-born Chinese the right to seek naturalization. -
When immigrants from outside the Western Hemisphere could enter the United States
A limit of 170,000 immigrants, with a maximum of 20,000 from any one country. -
The Immigration Act of 1990 provided the most comprehensive change in legal immigration since 1965
The act established a “flexible” worldwide cap on family-based, employment-based, and diversity immigrant visas.