US Immigration Act of 1917

The Immigration Act of 1917 drastically reduced US immigration by expanding the prohibitions of the Chinese exclusion laws of the late 1800s. The law created an â€Å"Asiatic barred zone† provision prohibiting immigration from British India, most of Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands, and the Middle East. In addition, the law required a basic literacy test for all immigrants and barred homosexuals, â€Å"idiots,† the â€Å"insane,† alcoholics, â€Å"anarchists,† and several other categories from immigrating. Key Takeaways: Immigration Act of 1917 The Immigration Act of 1917 banned all immigration to the United States from British India, most of Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands, and the Middle East.The Act was spurred by the isolationist movement seeking to prevent the United States from becoming involved in World War I.The Act required all immigrants to pass a basic literacy test administered in their native language.The Act also barred certain â€Å"undesirable† individuals, such as â€Å"idiots,† the â€Å"insane,† alcoholics, â€Å"anarchists† from entering the United States.Though President Woodrow Wilson initially vetoed the Immigration Act of 1917, Congress overwhelmingly overrode his veto, making the act a federal law on February 5, 1917. Details and Effects of the Immigration Act of 1917 From the late 1800s to the early 1900s, no nation welcomed more immigrants into its borders than the United States. In 1907 alone, a record 1.3 million immigrants entered the U.S. through New York’s Ellis Island. However, the Immigration Act of 1917, a product of the pre-World War I isolationism movement, would drastically change that. Also known as the Asiatic Barred Zone Act, the Immigration Act of 1917, barred immigrants from a large part of the world loosely defined as â€Å"Any country not owned by the U.S. adjacent to the continent of Asia.† In practice, the barred zone provision excluded immigrants from Afghanistan, the Arabian Peninsula, Asiatic Russia, India, Malaysia, Myanmar, and the Polynesian Islands. However, both Japan and the Philippines were excluded from the barred zone. The law also allowed exceptions for students, certain professionals, such as teachers and doctors, and their wives and children. Other provisions of the law increase the â€Å"head tax† immigrants were required to pay on entry to $8.00 per person and eliminated a provision in an earlier law that had excused Mexican farm and railroad workers from paying the head tax. The law also barred all immigrants over the age of 16 who were illiterate or deemed to be â€Å"mentally defective† or physically handicapped. The term â€Å"mentally defective† was interpreted to effectively exclude homosexual immigrants who admitted their sexual orientation. U.S. immigration laws continued to ban homosexuals until the passage of the Immigration Act of 1990, sponsored by Democratic Senator Edward M. Kennedy.   The law defined literacy as being able to read a simple 30 to 40-word passage written in the immigrant’s native language. Persons who claimed they were entering the U.S. to avoid religious persecution in their country of origin were not required to take the literacy test. Perhaps considered most politically incorrect by today’s standards, the law include specific language barring the immigration of â€Å"idiots, imbeciles, epileptics, alcoholics, poor, criminals, beggars, any person suffering attacks of insanity, those with tuberculosis, and those who have any form of dangerous contagious disease, aliens who have a physical disability that will restrict them from earning a living in the United States..., polygamists and anarchists,† as well as â€Å"those who were against the organized government or those who advocated the unlawful destruction of property and those who advocated the unlawful assault of killing of any officer.† Effect of the Immigration Act of 1917 To say the least, the Immigration Act of 1917 had the impact desired by its supporters. According to the Migration Policy Institute, only about 110,000 new immigrants were allowed to enter the United States in 1918, compared to more than 1.2 million in 1913. Further limiting immigration, Congress passed the National Origins Act of 1924, which for the first time established an immigration-limiting quota system and required all immigrants to be screened while still in their countries of origin. The law resulted in the virtual closure of Ellis Island as an immigrant processing center. After 1924, the only immigrants still being screened at Ellis Island were those who had problems with their paperwork, war refugees, and displaced persons. Isolationism Drove the Immigration Act of 1917 As an outgrowth of the American isolationism movement that dominated the 19th century, the Immigration Restriction League was founded in Boston in 1894. Seeking mainly to slow the entry of â€Å"lower-class† immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe, the group lobbied Congress to pass legislation requiring immigrants to prove their literacy. In 1897, Congress passed an immigrant literacy bill sponsored by Massachusetts Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, but President Grover Cleveland vetoed the law.   Be early 1917, with America’s participation in World War I appearing inevitable, demands for isolationism hit an all-time high. In that growing atmosphere of xenophobia, Congress easily passed the Immigration Act of 1917 and then overrode President Woodrow Wilson’s veto of the law by a supermajority vote. Amendments Restore US Immigration The negative effects of drastically reduced immigration and the general inequity of laws like the Immigration Act of 1917 soon become apparent and Congress reacted. With World War I reducing the American workforce, Congress amended the Immigration Act of 1917 to reinstate a provision exempting Mexican farm and ranch workers from the entry tax requirement. The exemption was soon extended to Mexican mining and railroad industry workers. Shortly after the end of World War II, the Luce-Celler Act of 1946, sponsored by Republican Representative Clare Boothe Luce and Democrat Emanuel Celler eased immigration and naturalization restrictions against Asian Indian and Filipino immigrants. The law allowed the immigration of up to 100 Filipinos and 100 Indians per year and again allowed Filipino and Indian immigrants to become United States citizens. The law also allowed naturalized Indian Americans and FilipinoAmericans to own homes and farms and to petition for their family members to be allowed to immigrate to the United States. In the final year of the presidency of Harry S. Truman, Congress further amended the Immigration Act of 1917 with its passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, known as the McCarran-Walter Act. The law allowed Japanese, Korean and other Asian immigrants to seek naturalization and established an immigration system that placed emphasis on skill sets and reuniting families. Concerned by the fact that the law maintained a quota system drastically limiting immigration from Asian nations, President Wilson vetoed the McCarran-Walter Act, but Congress garnered the votes needed to override the veto. Between 1860 and 1920, the immigrant share of the total U.S. population varied between 13% and nearly 15%, peaking at 14.8% in 1890, mainly due to high levels of immigrants from Europe. As of the end of 1994, the U.S. immigrant population stood at more than 42.4 million, or 13.3%, of the total U.S. population, according to Census Bureau data. Between 2013 and 2014, the foreign-born population of the U.S. increased by 1 million, or 2.5 percent. Immigrants to the United States and their children born in the U.S. now number approximately 81 million people or 26% of the overall U.S. population. Sources and Further Reference Bromberg, Howard (2015). â€Å"Immigration Act of 1917.† Immigration to the United States. Chan, Sucheng (1991). â€Å"The Exclusion of Chinese Women, 1870-1943.† Temple University Press. ISBN 978-1-56639-201-3Chung, Sue Fawn. â€Å"Entry Denied: Exclusion and the Chinese Community in America, 1882–1943.† Temple University Press, 1991.Powell, John (2009). â€Å"Encyclopedia of North American Immigration.† Infobase Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4381-1012-7.Railton, Ben (2013). â€Å"The Chinese Exclusion Act: What It Can Teach Us about America.† Pamgrave-McMillan. ISBN 978-1-137-33909-6.

Early Civilizations and the Dawn of the Medieval Age Essay

Early Civilizations and the Dawn of the Medieval Age History is an account of mans achievements during the last five thousand years. Though man has been on this planet for about 500,000 years, history only covers a part of this period. The reason for this is that history is essentially based on written documents However the art of writing become known to man, only after 3000 B. C. 1.1 History : Meaning and Importance The word history is derived from the Greek noun historia meaning inquiry or research. Aristotle regarded it as a systematic account of a set of natural phenomena, whether or not chronological ordering was a factor in the account. The term history has now come to be applied to accounts of events that are†¦show more content†¦It may be said that history is to the human race, what memory is to each man. It sheds the light of the past upon the present, thus helping one to understand oneself, by making one acquainted with other peoples. Also, as one studies the rise and fall of empires and civilizations, the lessons of the past help one to avoid the pitfalls of the present. History makes ones life richer by giving meaning to the books one reads, the cities one visits or the music one hears. It also broadens ones outlook by presenting to one an admixture of races, a mingling of cultures and a spectacular drama of the making of the modern world out of diverse forces. Another importance of history is that it enables one to grasp ones relationship with ones past. For example if one wonders why the U.S. flag has 48 stars or why Great Britain follows monarchy, one has to turn to history for an answer. History is of immense value to social scientists engaged in research. Thus the political scientist doing research on the parliamentary form of government, has to draw his materials from the treasure trove of history. It preserves the traditional and cultural values of a nation, and serves as a beacon light, guiding society in confronting various crises. History is indeed, as Allen Nerins puts it, a bridge connecting the past with the present and pointing the road to theShow MoreRelatedHuman Trafficking and Exploitation973 Words   |  4 Pageseducation, stronger government action and an end to corruption. Human trafficking and exploitation have been a reality from one end of the globe to another for thousands of years. From the beginnings of society, the ancient Greeks and Romans to the medieval times, and up to today, humans have been susceptible to numerous forms of physical and sexual slavery. For almost as long as there have been humans, there have been forms of slavery, but the 1400s signaled the start of European slave trading in AfricaRead MoreThe Decline Of Gothic And Romanesque Art1569 Words   |  7 Pagesthey saw and dreaded the pain and hate brought onto humanity by Medieval times. 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A Remarkable Event That Happened in My Life free essay sample

It’s all start when my sister and I went to Watson. While I’m doing window shopping, my sister went to buy some stuff. Accidently, in a glance, I saw my sister at the health section. In consciously, I went to her with full of questions, and asked her ‘are you sick? ’ Then she turned back to me and answered my question with a question, ‘is this good? ’ My mind was full with questions but all of them were answered when my sister called my mother and told her the great news. Then suddenly, I’ve heard this loud screaming from my mother room. In a minute, all my siblings went to her room with anxiously. After she hang up the phone, with full of excitement we asked her what was happening? With a joyful face, she told us that our sister is pregnant. The question that was keeping in my mind and made me in an uncomfortable position finally has been answered. We will write a custom essay sample on A Remarkable Event That Happened in My Life or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page â€Å"No wonder she buys the pregnant test today†. This is how I got to learn about my sis’ pregnancy. But what I really want to share with u today is how I took care of my sis during and after her pregnancy. During my sister pregnancy, I try my best to take care of her. I still remembered the day she suddenly asked me a question with a worry face â€Å"Can you do me a favor? † From her face, I knew that she was worry about something. As a wife, what make her so worry? Except the housework, there was no other thing she needs to worry about. Then I asked her â€Å"Yes, what is it? † †Could you please come to my house every Saturday and do the chores? Some of the stuff was hard for me to do because I’m pregnant now. † I answered, â€Å"Can, but what I get on return? † I don’t want to make a non-profit deal. â€Å"Yes, I will pay you RM20 every time you clean up my house. Is it deal? † SURE!!! Some of them said that when a woman pregnant, their characteristics will change to be more temper and easy to get mad. I knew that if my sister gets mad, it will affect the baby too. So I try my best to satisfy her demand all the time when she put s an order. Example, carry things, take boiled water for her to take medicine and etc. I still remembered that day, when my sister drove me to eat my lunch. In our way, we were having a slightly car accident. Fortunately, we both were safe and no injured. At the same time, I feel self-accusation because I scared if it will happen again and maybe next time we are not that lucky. So after the accident, I never let my sister driving during her pregnancy because I realize it is dangerous for her. So every time when she wants to go out, I will just be her driver when she needs me. My sister was limited by my mother about her eating habits during her pregnancy. Every time when my sister and I went out for our meal, I will do as what my mother always did, reminded my sister â€Å"u can’t eat that, this is not good for the baby†. Almost all the time she will listen to me, but sometimes she would not. for her, I am an annoying person. Whenever she wants to go, I will always support her with my hand. Example, help her to open the car door, take her to cross the road, lead her hand when shopping and etc. After she gives birth by operation, she needs to stay at hospital for 1 week. I was being the volunteer who want to stay and accompany her in hospital for 1 week. for me it is better than just staying at home and doing nothing. In that time, I always chatting with my sister, watch television with her to reduce her pain in wound. Some of the time she feels very uncomfortable and cried. I will hold her hand and tell her, â€Å"is ok, don’t too worry, the pain will gone after this few days. † I’m always reminding her to take medicine on time. Support her with my hand and took her to walk around the hospital so that the wound will recover faster. I will always take her to see her baby in the baby room. I look like a part time nurse in that hospital, but that was for my sister, I know I have the responsibility to do that. After a week, my sister finally can go home. Because this was her first time to give birth, my mother offers her back home to be in confinement. But there was no room for her, so I just give up my room for her to be in confinement. Some time I will help her to buy pampers and milk powder when she has no time to buy them. I will always help her to take care of her son when she was tired. Example, lullaby my nephew to sleep, feed the baby with a bottle of milk. Why this event is remarkable for me? During this event, I have learned and gain many things in my life. I learn how hard my mother giving birth of me. I learn how to take care of my future wife when she is pregnant. I learn to appreciate everyone in my life. I gain a good relationship with my sister.

The Knowledge That We Value the Most Is the Knowledge for Which We Can Provide the Strongest Justifications.” to What Extent Would You Agree with This Claim Essay Example

The Knowledge That We Value the Most Is the Knowledge for Which We Can Provide the Strongest Justifications.† to What Extent Would You Agree with This Claim? Paper According to Plato, for one to know a proposition, one must be justified in knowing the proposition is true, the proposition must be true and one must believe in the proposition (Woolman 2000). Much of what we know and value, is justified through strong and solid reasoning and proof, such as Mathematical and scientific formulas; but a lot of significant knowledge which is believed in and seen of great importance, cannot be proven in the same way, and is justified in a very different manner. For example, one’s belief in God is justified mainly through faith and to some extent tradition. Historical interpretations are justified through a mixture of rational facts, but also involve a lot of guess work and hypothesis. So is the knowledge justified by strong and solid reasoning and ‘proof’ valued more? In my opinion the correctness of this claim depends on the area of knowledge and way of knowing. Strong justification in my opinion is different in different subject areas. In maths and science, I am only prepared to accept knowledge with strong logical and empirical proofs. In other areas, such as my faith in God, that type of justification is irrelevant and meaningless. Faith is the basis of my belief that there is a God. Mathematics is the one area of knowledge where I think the most valued knowledge is that for which we can provide the strongest rational, logical, reasoned justifications. The explanation behind this is that for mathematics, the main way of knowing is reason, and minimal sense perception, language or emotion is involved. We will write a custom essay sample on The Knowledge That We Value the Most Is the Knowledge for Which We Can Provide the Strongest Justifications.† to What Extent Would You Agree with This Claim? specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Knowledge That We Value the Most Is the Knowledge for Which We Can Provide the Strongest Justifications.† to What Extent Would You Agree with This Claim? specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Knowledge That We Value the Most Is the Knowledge for Which We Can Provide the Strongest Justifications.† to What Extent Would You Agree with This Claim? specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Mathematicians try to keep other ways of knowing down to a minimal to try to avoid ambiguity and uncertainty. A great example is Fermat’s last theorem, where even though everyone had assumed the theorem was correct, it could not be proven, therefore was not valued as much, which was shown by the small number of theorems based upon Fermat’s theorem. After a long process of reasoning a mathematician called Andrew Wilds was able to justify the theorem, after which other theorems were able to be based on Fermat’s last theorem- showing how its value increased. This example through the 7-year ‘struggle’ Andrew Wilds went through, showed even though mathematics is based on ‘proof’ and reason, the mathematicians are humans, therefore the mathematical challenges they face have a lot emotion and connections to them, increasing the value of the knowledge they find through challenges. Areas of knowledge such as Ethics have very little reasoned ‘proof’, and justify their knowledge more through faith, belief, conscience and empathy. This is because hardly anything in these areas of knowing can be proven exactly, instead the knowledge relates more to ones emotions, beliefs and faith- which helps explain why there are so many ambiguities and clashes of what knowledge is correct or more valuable. An example of this is Islamic Extremists (terrorists) who naively believe killing innocent people, who are supposedly ‘enemies of god’, will guarantee them going to heaven. The majority of the world, including most Muslims disagree with these extremist ideas, but the extremists’ faith has lead them to believe what they are doing is right. I myself am a religious person, and without a doubt believe that there is a superior power among us, known as God and have. Even though this cannot be scientifically proven, I have a religious assurance, belief and faith that God exists. Faith is a unique and powerful way of knowing, lead by emotion. One’s faith and the knowledge reasoned by this faith cannot be rationally justified, but a lot of the time this is the most valued knowledge. Another example where faith justified ones knowledge was in medieval times, when people prosecuted several innocent people as witches, predicted their future by looking at inside animals and believed Kings were naturally chosen by God. All of this knowledge had no justifications, but were purely backed up by faith, yet they were valued to extreme extents. History and ethics are very similar, but the main difference is that with History there’s more rational justification, and more willingness to change. The presence of belief and tradition is shown through how history books in various countries change. The presence of rational justification is shown through how some facts in history never change, for example Britain ruled over Tanzania, and then Tanzania got its independence in 1962. This will not change, no matter where the history textbook is made, showing how even though a lot of historic knowledge is justified through tradition and belief; a lot of history is also justified with rational justifications, backed up with facts. In some areas of knowledge where knowledge is justified through a mixture of both strong proven justifications; and faith, belief and emotion related justifications. These areas are similar to History, but have more rationally justified knowledge. These areas of knowledge include: social sciences and to some extent natural science. For these areas valued knowledge is usually proven and logically justified, but in addition emotion, faith and belief also play a big role. An example of a such a social science is Economics, where most of the theory is justified through strong reason; but several aspects also involve emotion and beliefs, for example if government intervention is good, is it okay to have big wealth inequalities and what type and amount of taxes are acceptable? For natural sciences, a lot more rational justification is involved, but it’s also connected to some emotion, tradition and belief. For example in physics, there was a big dispute between scientists whether light travelled in the form of waves of particles, both theories were rationally justified through experiments and calculations; but which theory to believe depended on one’s belief. Later it was discovered light travels, as both waves and particles. There is some knowledge which may contradict all justification, this is a very rare, but it is possible. An area where such a scenario might take place is in Fine art or Music. For example an art piece drawn by a student is criticized for its un-realistic colors, shapes of objects and lack of creativity, therefore receives a bad grade. Most people including artists would agree that the art piece is poor; but some might argue in the contrary that the piece is beautiful and original (i. . Picasso’s paintings were criticized at first). These people might be able to justify through artistic skills that the piece is not great, but they still might love it- showing how their most justified knowledge is not valued at all, but is contradicted. Similarly to fine art or music, is conscience. Our conscience tells us what’s right and wrong and helps us ‘correctly’ solve our moral issues. A lot of the time it is described as â€Å"a reflection of the voice of God†. This is similar to fine art or music, because even though sometimes through our conscience we have justified knowledge of what’s right and wrong, we don’t value and contradict this knowledge. For example most thieves know they are wrong in stealing items or money not belonging to them, but they choose to ignore this justified knowledge, showing they have no value for it. Introspection is when one studies their own mental, emotional and sometimes physical processes (Woolman 2000). A great example of this is love, which is entirely emotional based. This is similar to conscience or even fine art and music, because firstly knowledge by Introspection is emotion based therefore justified knowledge is valued very little, or not at all. Secondly a lot of the time knowledge and actions by introspection contradict the justified knowledge. For example a woman is in love with a man, she is aware this man is dangerous and probably will cheat and hurt her; but because she’s in love (knowledge through introspection) she marries the man. In this example the woman has justified knowledge suggesting she shouldn’t marry the man, but she doesn’t value and contradicts this knowledge due to introspection. Even though Introspection has several similarities with the other areas, there is also something very unique. This is that the justified knowledge involved with Introspection is very different from other areas, as a lot of the time it cannot be unanimously decided upon as a lot of the knowledge is based on personal views, conscience and emotion. In conclusion the most justified knowledge is not always the most valued knowledge, even though this is the case a lot of the time (i. e. Math formulae). The knowledge we value most depends on the areas of knowledge, ways of knowing and other personal factors such as emotion; and sometimes the most justified knowledge could be contradicted and be of least value to us. Bibliography: †¢Woolman, Micheal. 2000. Ways of Knowing – An introduction to theory of knowledge. Australia. IBID press. †¢Lagemaat, Richard van de. 2005. Theory of Knowledge for the IB diploma. Cambridge, UK. Cambridge University Press.