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Following the Civil War, which caused labor shortages, the Immigration Act of 1864 legalized labor recruitment and practices very similar to indentured servitude. This act encouraged immigration but was repealed in 1868.
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Job and food shortages, famine, and rising taxes in Europe caused immigrants to search for new economic opportunities in America. Developing industrialization, expansion of railroads, misuse of coal mines, and other developments drew in great numbers of Europeans to the US.
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With the rise of European immigrants in America, they began taking jobs traditionally for Chinese laborers. This caused the beginning of a depression and decline of immigration in America.
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After the Civil War, states began passing their own laws about immigration. However, in 1875, the Supreme Court enforced that laws about immigration can only be made by the federal government.
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The Chinese Exclusion Act was a United States federal law prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers to the US. Because the Chinese laborers were becoming successful economically, Americans began fearing that their job opportunities were limited and believed the immigrants were the reason for their own low wages.
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In 1888, Congress passed the Scott Act, which amended the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. This new law banned Chinese laborers from re-entering the US after leaving.
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The Chinese Exclusion Act was modified in 1891 in attempt to increase the effectiveness of the previous laws about Immigration. This act enforced the Federal Government’s authority when dealing with aliens, made the immigration requirements stricter, and expanded the list of exclusions for immigration in the US.
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Ellis Island, the first US immigration station, opened in 1892 in the New York Harbor. More than 12 million people used Ellis Island to immigrate to the US from 1892 - 1954.
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In 1907, President Roosevelt created the Gentleman's Agreement to calm tension between the US and Japan over the immigration of Japanese workers. In this agreement, the United States concurred not to impose restrictions on Japanese immigration and in exchange, Japan would not allow further emigration to the US.
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World War I interrupts mass immigration to the US. The war began in 1914, but the US didn't get involved until 1917. Once the US joined the war, they shut down borders in fear that immigrants from other countries would be undercover to attack the US.
