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Home , April 1924, Immigration Act of 1924, May 1924, October 1924, Samuel Gompers

A publication of the Presidential Foundation Coolidge

August 2018 • volume 2 • issue 2

Immigration—Then and Now By Matthew Denhart and Rob Hammer

“There is ample evidence that, at the rate they have been coming, they cannot readily be assimilated. […] American interests, not foreign influence, must prevail.” The preceding lines sound as if they were pulled from an debate on cable news in the year 2018. But, in fact, the lines actually appeared almost a century ago in an article of the Daily Tribune weighing the pros and cons of an immigration bill then attracting wide- spread support on Capitol Hill. The drafters of the 1924 , Con- gressman Albert Johnson (left) and Senator The bill soon became law as the Im- David Reed (right). The “Johnson-Reed” Act migration Act of 1924, also known as greatly reduced the influx of immigration, par- ticularly from and Southern/Eastern the “Johnson-Reed Act,” named for its Europe. (Image courtesy of ) sponsors Congressman Albert Johnson (R-WA) and Senator David Reed (R-PA). The law’s National Origins Today’s concerns with immigration Quota greatly curtailed immigration gen- in many ways echo the impulses that erally and skewed the preference for the drove the restrictionist action of the few available slots toward Western Euro- . Three major concerns about immi- peans. Furthermore, the Act left in place gration are evident in Coolidge’s era and earlier restrictions on immigrants from our own. These include: fear of violent in- Asia and placed new explicit bans on im- ternational unrest, a perception that im- migration to the U.S. by the Japanese. migrants would not assimilate, and Johnson-Reed proved highly popular, concern that immigrants posed a threat to passing the Senate with only a handful of natives’ economic well-being. dissenting votes and likewise clearing the First, Americans feared that interna- House of Representatives 323 to 71. Pres- tional unrest of revolution abroad could ident Coolidge favored the law as a whole spread to the U.S. This concern was under- but expressed apprehension about the standable. By the time Coolidge appeared clause that excluded Japanese immigrants. on the national stage, the Bolsheviks had He called this particular exclusion “un- just consolidated power in , major necessary and deplorable,” and said that labor strikes were taking place across “If the exclusion provision stood alone, I America, and anarchists threatened cher- should disapprove it without hesitation.” ished political institutions.

Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation • coolidgefoundation.org • 802-672-3389 Coolidge quarterly

As governor of Massachusetts, The second parallel between Coolidge personally dealt with extrem- Coolidge’s time and our own is the ism. In 1919 Boston police abandoned broader fear that newcomers do not as- their posts, declaring a strike. Chaos similate. This certainly was a concern ensued. Coolidge responded forcefully, of President Coolidge, who in his First refusing to countenance the rehiring of Annual Message informed Congress that: the striking policemen and responding “New arrivals should be limited to our to American Federation of Labor (AFL) capacity to absorb them into the ranks of President , himself good .” He continued firmly: an immigrant, that there was “no right “Those who do not want to be partakers to strike against the public safety by of the American spirit ought not to settle anybody, anywhere, any time.” in America.” In , Italian-born anar- By the 1920s, economic opportuni- chists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo ties had pulled eastern and southern Eu- Vanzetti captured the attention of the ropeans to America’s growing industrial country when they were arrested for centers. These immigrants came from dif- murdering a shoe factory guard and a ferent cultures, spoke different languages, paymaster in Braintree, Massachusetts. and in many cases held different religious Just a few months later, in September and political beliefs than previous waves 1920, a bomb exploded on Wall Street, of immigrants, who came primarily from killing dozens and injuring more. The Western Europe. Americans wondered case was never solved, but Americans if these newcomers would learn English suspected Italian-born anarchists perpe- and come to respect and support Ameri- trated this attack as well. ca’s political and cultural institutions. Deportation was seen as one solution. The third parallel is an especially In , some 249 alleged an- poignant one: the economy and employ- archists and communists, including activist ment. According to economists Timothy , were loaded on the Hatton and Jeffrey Williamson, immi- USAT Buford, dubbed the “Red Ark,” and gration was accompanied by significant deported to the Soviet Union. capital investment flows from Europe

Too Much, Not Enough, or Just Right? Foreign-Born Proportion of the U.S. Population, 1850-2016 15% 14% 13% 12% 11% 10% 9% 8% 7% 6% 5%

total popula1on Foreign-born % of 4% 3% 2% 1% 0% 1850 1860 1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2016

Year

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Historical Census Statistics on the Foreign-Born Population of the United States: 1850-2000; U.S. Census Bureau, 2016 American Community Survey

2 Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation • coolidgefoundation.org • 802-672-3389 Immigration—Then and Now

prior to 1913, which helped offset wage immigration policy remained at bay. This reductions from increased labor supply all changed, however, when Congress and probably blunted anti-immigrant overrode President Wilson’s veto of sentiment. This slowed during and after the . This law , and research by Harvard required immigrants to pass a literacy economist Claudia test and, through its Goldin suggests that Barred Asiatic Zone as American wage- provision, forbade growth stagnated, Immigration nearly all Asian im- political support for Act of 1924 migration. Soon af- immigration restric- terward, in 1921, the The tion grew. Emergency Quota curtailed yearly immigration to Act put national Immigrants the United States by extending were not the only restrictions on im- and making more restrictive the migration and laid threat that American nationality-based quota system workers perceived. the blueprint for the already in place under the Im- 1924 Act. The turn of the migration Act of 1921. Under century witnessed the 1924 Act, the annual number Thus, John- immense techno- of new immigrants from any son-Reed was the logical innovation one country was capped at two apogee of a number both in the city and percent of that nationality’s rep- of largely bipartisan on the farm. While legislative efforts resentation in the 1890 Census. these changes mea- aimed at restricting This formula was to remain in surably improved immigration. The effect until . Thereafter, people’s lives, disper- effect of the 1924 another clause of the 1924 Act sion of capital inno- Act was tremen- was to come into effect placing vations also rendered dous. Between the certain kinds of an 150,000 annual cap on the 1920s and 1930s, labor obsolete and total number of new immigrants immigration de- made others easily and tying the country-specific creased by 84%. In replaceable. For the yearly quota calculation to 1920 fact, annual immi- average native-born population estimates. The im- grant arrivals would factory worker, im- plementation of this clause was not surpass the 1924 migrants not only delayed and instead became ef- level (706,896) until threatened their fective in 1929. 1989, a 65-year wages, but also their In addition, the 1924 Act explic- period when world collective bargaining itly barred Japanese immigrants population more power by providing and maintained the ban on im- than doubled. cheap labor to break migration from most Asian coun- *** strikes. Similar re- tries that had been in place since With the sentment fueled an the Immigration Act of 1917. benefit of hind- often-violent animus The Act allowed continued unre- toward African- sight, what should stricted immigration from coun- one make of the Americans arriving tries in the . from the South in concerns Americans search of work. expressed about im- *** migration during Coolidge’s time? Against this backdrop, restrictive The concern about revolution in the legislation had been a long time coming. U.S. proved exaggerated. Yet, considering The House and Senate both passed im- that Soviet-containment and the Cold migration restrictions in 1897, 1912, War dominated America’s foreign policy and 1915. It was only through vetoes by for much of the twentieth century, the three separate sitting presidents (Cleve- threat was certainly not unreal. land, Taft, and Wilson) that restrictive

Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation • coolidgefoundation.org • 802-672-3389 3 Coolidge quarterly

any good qualities behind, but they are rather required to strengthen and fortify them and supplement them with such ad- ditional good qualities as they find among us.” Just as immigrants in Coolidge’s day

came to partake in American culture, America itself has adapted and evolved thanks to immigrants.

The economic concerns too were overstated, especially when considering Immigrants disembark from a ferry at the big picture. To be sure, the large inflow circa 1920 in the hope of a better life. (Image cour- tesy of Library of Congress) of foreign-born workers likely intro- duced labor market competition that put

negative pressure on American citizens’ The concern about assimilation wages. Even so, economists today find that proved exaggerated as well. Assimilation immigrants tend to increase productivity can be difficult to measure, but one indi- and contribute to economic growth. cator is the percentage of immigrants in Finally, given the productive nature the U.S. who become naturalized citizens. of immigrants and their children, one By this indicator, the U.S. was indeed at wonders what America lost from restric- something of a low point in the 1920s, tive immigration policy. After all, icons when fewer than 50% of immigrants were such as Henry Ford, , naturalized citizens, down from rates Thomas Edison, and Irving Berlin were closer to 65% in the late 1800s. Today, all either children of immigrants or immi- as in the 1920s, only around half have grants themselves. How many Fords did achieved . America forego? Unfortunately, that is a Despite this, the broader evidence question to which we will never have an suggests that the immigrants of Coolidge’s answer. era indeed adopted the American way It goes without saying that immigra- of life. While some first-generation im- tion has dominated headlines in recent migrants struggled to learn English and years, inflaming the passions of Ameri- adapt to American culture, their children, cans on both sides of the debate. Perhaps born and raised in the U.S., quickly and this is unsurprising. After all, the immi- naturally assimilated. Nobody today ques- grant share of America’s population, today tions whether families whose ancestors at 13.5%, is inching back toward a level came from or Poland in the early not seen since Coolidge’s era. 1900s are sufficiently “American.” As Americans weigh the pros and Of course assimilation is a two-way cons of immigration, they would be wise street. In a 1926 speech dedicating a to heed the lessons of the past as they statue of the Swedish-born inventor John dissect the many issues that make immi- Ericsson, Coolidge explained: “None of gration a topic of such enduring debate. those who come here are required to leave

Matthew Denhart is the executive director of the Calvin Coolidge Pres- idential Foundation. He has written widely on the topic of immigration and is the author of “America’s Advantage: A Handbook on Immigration and Economic Growth.”

Rob Hammer serves as program manager at the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation where he helps oversee the Coolidge Scholarship and Coolidge Debate programs. Mr. Hammer is a graduate of Ohio University with a degree in economics.

4 Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation • coolidgefoundation.org • 802-672-3389 Coolidge and immigration

Coolidge and Immigration By David Pietrusza

Calvin Coolidge spoke consistently In his Inaugural on immigration. Address, Coolidge credited his admin- Though Coolidge favored immi- istration’s immigration policies for the gration restrictions, he was not anti- nation’s prosperity and well-being: immigrant. In fact, Coolidge recognized Under the helpful influences of the many benefits immigrants bestowed restrictive immigration and a on America. Remarks made in his ac- protective tariff, employment is ceptance of the 1924 GOP presidential plentiful, the rate of pay is high, nomination summarize his view: and wage earners are in a state of Restricted immigration is not an contentment seldom before seen. offensive but a purely defensive action. It is not adopted in criti- cism of others in the slightest degree, but solely for the purpose of protecting ourselves. We cast no aspersions on any race or creed, but we must remember that every object of our institu- tions of society and government will fail unless America be kept American…. Those who toil have always profited from Republican control President Coolidge with members of the Italian Re- of Government. Under the policy publican League of in . of protection and restrictive im- (Image Courtesy of the Library of Congress) migration no deflation of wages has occurred. In , Coolidge had signed the Johnson-Reed Immigration Act The Same Boat further restricting immigration and so- “Whether one traces his lidifying the newly-established system of national quotas. The national mood was Americanism back three overwhelmingly restrictionist. That year’s centuries to the May- Republican platform, no doubt reflecting flower, or three years Coolidge’s views, declared that post-war to the steerage, is not mass immigration: half so important as would have seriously disturbed whether his American- our economic life. The law ism of today is real and recently enacted is designed to genuine. No matter by protect the inhabitants of our what various crafts we country, not only the American came here, we are all citizen, but also the alien already now in the same boat.” with us who is seeking to secure an economic foothold for himself Calvin Coolidge to the and family from the competition American Legion Convention, that would come from unre- Omaha, Nebraska, 1925 stricted immigration.

Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation • coolidgefoundation.org • 802-672-3389 5 Coolidge quarterly

Democrats, perhaps even more so incident by suggesting, while than Republicans, favored restrictions. the immigration bill was in con- The 1924 Democratic platform addressed ference, that application of the the immigration issue solely in these exclusion clause be delayed for sixteen words: “We pledge ourselves to two years. In that period the maintain our established position in favor State Department would nego- of the exclusion of Asiatic immigration.” tiate with a treaty so ef- In 1924, Japanese-American rela- fectively restricting immigration tions were remarkably cordial. Japan ap- that drastic legislation would preciated Americans’ generous response not be necessary. Congress to Coolidge’s 1923 appeal for funds to refused. Coolidge then bid for a ameliorate the effects of that year’s dev- one-year postponement, and was astating Japanese earthquake. The year again rebuffed. Ultimately the before, Secretary of State Charles Evans President signed the exclusion Hughes had achieved immense success measure because it was part of a with Japan in limiting naval armaments. comprehensive immigration bill and because a veto in the face The Johnson-Reed Act’s Japanese of such overwhelming congres- exclusion provisions undid such goodwill, sional support would have been something both Hughes and Coolidge— a futile gesture. For the same though not the Congress—recognized. reasons, Hughes had not re- Complicating the matter was an ill-ad- quested a veto. vised protest by Japanese Ambassador Masanao Hanihara, which American leg- Anti-American hatred swept Japan. islators (led by ) hys- A distraught Hughes visited Coolidge in terically denounced as a “threat.” his sickbed, mourning that the incident “was enough to make a man resign.” As Hughes biographer Merlo Pusey noted: “Don’t you ever think of leaving your position,” Coolidge snapped, “I agree Coolidge attempted to avert with you in everything that you’ve done.” the ‘grave consequences’ of the

David Pietrusza is a National Advisory Board member of the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation. Pietrusza has written or edited over three dozen books, including Silent Cal’s Almanack: The Homespun Wit and Wisdom of Vermont’s Calvin Coolidge and Calvin Coolidge: A Documentary Biography. His next book is TR’s Last War: Theodore Roosevelt, the Great War, and a Journey of Triumph and Tragedy.

Family Reunification In , Rep. Robert Green (D-FL) decried current calls for reuniting sepa- rated immigrant families as “sentimentalism” and “bunk.” Coolidge felt differently. In his Third State of the Union Address, he posited: … our immigration law is on the whole beneficial. It is undoubtedly a protection to the wage earners of this country. The situation should however, be carefully surveyed, in order to ascertain whether it is working a needless hardship upon our own inhabitants. If it deprives them of the comfort and society of those bound to them by close family ties, such modifications should be adopted as will afford relief, always in accordance with the principle that our Government owes its first duty to our own people and that no alien, inhabitant of another country, has any legal rights whatever under our Constitution and laws. It is only through treaty, or through residence here that such rights accrue. But we should not, however, be forgetful of the obligations of a common humanity.

6 Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation • coolidgefoundation.org • 802-672-3389 CoolCoolidgeidge and quarterly immigration

An Underlying Philosophy

In Coolidge’s January 1914 “Have avoid the danger of increas- Faith in Massachusetts” address, ing our numbers too fast. It he famously urged “Give admin- is not a reflection on any race istration a chance to catch up with or creed. We might not be legislation.” His attitude on im- able to support them if their migration followed the same prin- numbers were too great. In ciple—allow for America to mean- such event, the first suffer- ers would be the most recent ingfully absorb what immigrants it immigrants, unaccustomed to already possessed before accepting our life and language and in- more. He expressed this to a group dustrial methods. We want to of foreign-born citizens visiting the keep wages and living condi- White House in : tions good for everyone who “It has been found neces- is now here or who may come sary to inquire whether … here. we can be sure of finding “As a Nation, our first duty employment for the diverse must be to those who are elements and enormous already our inhabitants, numbers of new immigrants whether native or immi- that are offered to us. We grants. To them we owe an are all agreed, whether we especial and a weighty obli- be Americans of the first or gation. They came to us with of the seventh generation on stout hearts and high hopes this soil, that it is not desir- of bettering their estate. They able to receive more immi- have contributed much to grants than can reasonably making our country what it be assured of bettering their is. They magnificently proved condition by coming here. For their loyalty by contributing the sake both of those who their full part when the war would come and more espe- made demand for sacrifices by cially of those already here, all Americans.” it has been thought wise to

STAFF OF THE COOLIDGE FOUNDATION Chairman Executive Director Program manager Amity Shlaes Matthew Denhart Rob Hammer Debate Director OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR EDUCATION DIRECTOR Jared Rhoads John Ferrell Diane Kemble coolidge quarterly Editor Designer Printer David Pietrusza Brittney Nichole Designs Red House Press

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