Emergency Quota Act facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Emergency Quota Act

Other short titles	Emergency Immigration Act of 1921 Immigration Restriction Act of 1921 Johnson Quota Act
Long title	An Act to limit the immigration of aliens into the United States.
Nicknames	Per Centum Limit Act
Enacted by	the 67th United States Congress
Effective	May 19, 1921
Citations
Public law	Pub.L. 67-5
Statutes at Large	42 Stat. 5
Legislative history
Introduced in the House as H.R. 4075 by Albert Johnson (R-WA) Passed the House on April 22, 1921 (passed voice vote) Passed the Senate on May 3, 1921 (90-2) Reported by the joint conference committee on May 5, 1921; agreed to by the House on May 13, 1921 (285-41) and by the Senate on May 13, 1921 (agreed) Signed into law by President Warren G. Harding on May 19, 1921

The Emergency Quota Act was a United States law passed in 1921. It was also known by other names, like the Immigration Restriction Act of 1921. This law was created to control the large number of people coming to the United States from Southern Europe and Eastern Europe. It successfully limited immigration from these areas and other places.

Even though it was meant to be a temporary law, the Emergency Quota Act became very important. It changed American immigration policy in two big ways. First, it set limits on how many immigrants could come into the country. Second, it used a special "quota" system to decide these limits. This system later became known as the National Origins Formula.

What the Emergency Quota Act Did

The Emergency Quota Act put a cap on the number of immigrants allowed from each country every year. This limit was 3% of the number of people from that country who were already living in the U.S. in 1910. The government used the 1910 United States Census to figure out these numbers.

This rule meant that more people from Northern Europe and Western Europe could come to the U.S. They had higher quotas. Fewer people from Eastern Europe or Southern Europe were allowed. Also, people from non-European countries faced stricter limits.

However, some people were allowed to enter without these limits. Professionals, like doctors or engineers, could come regardless of their home country. There were also no limits on immigration from Latin America. The law also did not apply to countries that had special agreements with the U.S. It also did not affect Asian countries already covered by the Immigration Act of 1917. That earlier law was called the Asiatic Barred Zone Act.

Why the Law Was Created

After World War I ended, both Europe and the United States faced many challenges. In Europe, the war had caused a lot of damage. The Russian Revolution and the breakup of big empires like Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire led more people to leave their homes. Many wanted to move to the United States.

At the same time, the U.S. economy was struggling. After the war, many soldiers returned home and needed jobs. This led to higher unemployment. So, more immigrants arriving when jobs were scarce made many Americans worried. This situation made the movement against immigration stronger.

The Emergency Quota Act was sponsored by U.S. Representative Albert Johnson. He was a Republican from Washington. The law passed easily in the House of Representatives. It also passed in the Senate with a vote of 90 to 2.

How Immigration Changed

The new quota system quickly changed who came to the U.S. Before 1921, about 175,983 immigrants came each year from Northern and Western Europe. About 685,531 came from other countries, mostly Southern and Eastern Europe.

After the 1921 act, the total number of new immigrants dropped a lot. In 1920, about 805,228 immigrants arrived. In 1921-1922, this number fell to 309,556. There was a big decrease in people coming from Southern and Eastern Europe.

Later Changes to Immigration Laws

Many people felt the 1921 act was not strict enough. Millions of immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe had arrived since 1890. Because of this, the Immigration Act of 1924 was passed. This new law lowered the quota even more. It reduced the limit to 2% of a country's population in the 1890 census. The 1890 census was chosen because it showed a smaller percentage of people from regions considered "less desirable."

To make the new quota work, the U.S. started using a visa system. This system is still used today. It means that anyone who is not a U.S. citizen and wants to enter the country must get a visa. They have to get this visa from a U.S. embassy or consulate before they travel to the U.S.

Immigration officers checked these visa documents. They handled "non-immigrant" visas for visitors differently from "immigrant" visas for people wanting to live permanently in the U.S. Visitor visas were kept at the entry ports. Permanent immigrant visas were sent to Washington, D.C., for official processing and record-keeping.

The quota system based on "National Origins" continued for many years. It was finally replaced by the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. This new law changed how immigrants were chosen. It focused on things like immigrants' skills and if they had family members who were U.S. citizens or residents.

Immigration Quotas by Country Over Time

This table shows how the yearly immigration limits changed for countries in the Eastern Hemisphere. These numbers are based on different immigration laws from the Emergency Quota Act of 1921 up to 1965. The systems used in 1922 and 1925 were temporary. They were replaced by the National Origins Formula from the 1924 Act, which started on July 1, 1929. This formula used the 1920 Census to set the quotas.

Annual National Quota	Act of 1921		Act of 1924				Act of 1952
	1922	%	1925	%	1930	%	1965	%
Albania	288	0.08%	100	0.06%	100	0.07%	100	0.06%
Armenia	230	0.06%	124	0.08%	100	0.07%	100	0.06%
Austria	7,451	2.08%	785	0.48%	1,413	0.92%	1,405	0.89%
Belgium	1,563	0.44%	512	0.31%	1,304	0.85%	1,297	0.82%
Bulgaria	302	0.08%	100	0.06%	100	0.07%	100	0.06%
Czechoslovakia	14,357	4.01%	3,073	1.87%	2,874	1.87%	2,859	1.80%
Danzig	301	0.08%	228	0.14%	100	0.07%
Denmark	5,619	1.57%	2,789	1.69%	1,181	0.77%	1,175	0.74%
Estonia	1,348	0.38%	124	0.08%	116	0.08%	115	0.07%
Finland	3,921	1.10%	471	0.29%	569	0.37%	566	0.36%
Fiume	71	0.02%
France	5,729	1.60%	3,954	2.40%	3,086	2.01%	3,069	1.94%
Germany	67,607	18.90%	51,227	31.11%	25,957	16.89%	25,814	16.28%
Greece	3,294	0.92%	100	0.06%	307	0.20%	308	0.19%
Hungary	5,638	1.58%	473	0.29%	869	0.57%	865	0.55%
Iceland	75	0.02%	100	0.06%	100	0.07%	100	0.06%
Ireland			28,567	17.35%	17,853	11.61%	17,756	11.20%
Italy	42,057	11.75%	3,854	2.34%	5,802	3.77%	5,666	3.57%
Latvia	1,540	0.43%	142	0.09%	236	0.15%	235	0.15%
Lithuania	2,460	0.69%	344	0.21%	386	0.25%	384	0.24%
Luxembourg	92	0.03%	100	0.06%	100	0.07%	100	0.06%
Netherlands	3,607	1.01%	1,648	1.00%	3,153	2.05%	3,136	1.98%
Norway	12,202	3.41%	6,453	3.92%	2,377	1.55%	2,364	1.49%
Poland	31,146	8.70%	5,982	3.63%	6,524	4.24%	6,488	4.09%
Portugal	2,465	0.69%	503	0.31%	440	0.29%	438	0.28%
Romania	7,419	2.07%	603	0.37%	295	0.19%	289	0.18%
Russia /  Soviet Union	24,405	6.82%	2,248	1.37%	2,784	1.81%	2,697	1.70%
Spain	912	0.25%	131	0.08%	252	0.16%	250	0.16%
Sweden	20,042	5.60%	9,561	5.81%	3,314	2.16%	3,295	2.08%
Switzerland	3,752	1.05%	2,081	1.26%	1,707	1.11%	1,698	1.07%
Turkey	2,388	0.67%	100	0.06%	226	0.15%	225	0.14%
United Kingdom	77,342	21.62%	34,007	20.65%	65,721	42.76%	65,361	41.22%
Yugoslavia	6,426	1.80%	671	0.41%	845	0.55%	942	0.59%
Australia and  New Zealand	359	0.10%	221	0.13%	200	0.13%	700	0.44%
Total from  Europe	356,135	99.53%	161,546	98.10%	150,591	97.97%	149,697	94.41%
Total from Asia	1,066	0.30%	1,300	0.79%	1,323	0.86%	3,690	2.33%
Total from  Africa	122	0.03%	1,200	0.73%	1,200	0.78%	4,274	2.70%
Total from all Countries	357,803	100.00%	164,667	100.00%	153,714	100.00%	158,561	100.00%