Why did native-born Americans want to restrict immigration to the United States in the late 1800s? Choose all that are correct.
A. They said there was no more room in the country to take in more immigrants. B. They pointed out that their jobs could be taken by immigrants who didn't object to lower pay. C. They objected to paying for social services for immigrants. D. They believed that immigrants who looked different or spoke a foreign language would never fit in.
2 answers:
Answer:
B. They pointed out that their jobs could be taken by immigrants who didn't object to pay less.
C. They objected to paying for social services for immigrants.
D. They believed that immigrants who looked different or spoke a foreign language would never fit in.
Explanation:
In the late 1800s, about 12 million immigrants arrived to the territory of the United States, which were then perceived as the land of economic opportunity. The largest number of immigrants came from northern and western Europe (Great Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia). The most common circumstances that had immigrants leaving their home countries were rising taxes, job and land shortages, crop failure, and famine.
They started looking for jobs in the US and were willing to work for less than what an ordinary American citizen would work for. Native-born Americans saw this as a threat and wanted to restrict immigration.
Another argument against immigration was the social services someone needed to pay for. As many people came to America with nothing and had nowhere to live, houses for them needed to be built. Besides that, special organizations were formed, e.g. for children coming from poor immigrant families. Ones who were against immigration overall used this is one of the arguments.
Another issue was the fact that the immigrants were different from native-born Americans. Their culture was different, their language, religion, and, in some cases, even race. All of this made it hard for them to fit into American society, whose hostility only grew with time. By 1882, the hostility towards Chinese American workers got so bad that Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, prohibiting Chinese immigration to the US. This act was fully annulled only in 1965.
As the nation was still expanding at the time, with plenty of space in the West and Midwest, the lack of room was typically not a used argument.
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