Syria Blog Post

Recently, there were reports of students who put graffiti on Anti-government signs in Syria. As a result of the graffiti, those students were tortured, and altogether this caused protests throughout Syria. President Bashar al-Assad was the president while the protests were taking place. He took action by sending tanks and security forces into the cities where protests were occurring. The protests continued for a long time, so the government took action by sending in soldiers to control the crowds. Although the soldiers were supposed to be controlling the protesters, they actually began going against the government as well. This contributed the formation of the Syrian National Council (a group that opposed the government.) Today, there are many groups of people in Syria who are opposed to the government, but these groups have failed to join together and rid of Bashar al-Assad out of power. A piece of evidence that shows an increasing rate of violence is stated best by saying, "According the United Nations, more than 5,400 Syrians have been killed, thousands are missing, with 25,000 refugees in other countries and more than 70,000 internally displaced". With the interviews that investigators have done to gain knowledge of the situation in Syria, they ultimately have been able to accomplish a lot. They were able to vote Bashar al-Assad to give his power and duties to current vice president. The US is now working with the United Nations to support Syria. Human rights are dishonored in a lot of places around the world, and this very serious issue needs to be taken care of.

Iran Blog Post

The country of Iran has had a religious based government, known as a quasi- theocracy govenment, since the rise of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi in 1979. This is causing the United States to question Iran over its suppression of the Green Movement, and constant involvement in helping milary groups such as the Hamas. Ultimately, Iran has not been at peace with the U.S. or the West for a very long time. While this conflict is a large reason for the tenstion between Iran and the United States, Iran's nuclear program is an even larger cause of the tension. People believe that this program is designed to develop nuclear weapons, and that they are constantly working to create new nuclear devices, that could potentially be dangerous. The U.S. and the European Union are joining together to do everything in their power to prevent Iran from getting financial support to help them fund their uclear program. The U.S. and European Union are also working to stop companies that are contributing to the nuclear industry in Iran, to decrease the nuclear problems that the industry is causing. The United States has been succesful in limiting the amount gasoline that Iran is given, and by cutting off investments to the industry. In responcse to the actions taken by the United States, Iran blocked one of their main connections for oil called the Straight of Hormuz. Recently in 2012, Iran's economic state really started to take a turn for the worst. Iran now suffers with producing money that is needed for their importing needs because of the turn in their economy. While the United States was successful is stopping Iran from recieving funding for their nuclear weapon developments, the downfall in their economy did negatively affect countries such as Britain and France because they depend on Iran for specific supplies such as oil which were cut off.

Anti-Immigration Movement Source 6

Link:http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre1927081900

Citation:Immigration from Canada and Latin America. (1927). Editorial research reports 1927 (Vol. III). Washington, DC: CQ Press. Retrieved from http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre1927081900

Summary: (not put in my own words)

Restriction of immigration from Canada and the Latin American countries by placing them under the quota plan now operating to limit the number of immigrants annually entering the United States from European countries will be recommended to the Seventieth Congress. Rep. John C. Box (Dem.) of Texas, author of a bill to limit immigration from Canada and Latin America which was introduced in 1925, has recently announced that he will re-introduce his bill during the forthcoming session.

Harry E. Hull, Commissioner General of Immigration, advocated extension of the quota system to countries of the Western Hemisphere in his report for the fiscal, year 1926, and is at present formulating recommendations of a similar nature to be presented to Congress. A number of groups are supporting the proposal to erect higher immigration barriers on the continent. This includes trade unions, farmers' organizations, women's organizations, social service agencies and some citizens associations, particularly in the Southwest and in some parts of the Middle West, where social and economic problems have arisen during recent years as the result of a large influx of Mexicans.

Defeat of Purpose of Quota Plan

Advocates of further restriction claim that the movement from Latin America is defeating the purpose of the Immigration Acts of 1921 and 1924, which were intended to reduce immigration to manageable proportions and to permit the entry of individuals who would readily become American in their ways of life.

Anti-Immigration Movement Source 5

Link: http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre1929031200


Citation: The national-origin immigration plan. (1929). Editorial research reports 1929 (Vol. I). Washington, DC: CQ Press. Retrieved from http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre1929031200


Summary: (not put in my own words)

The Immigration Act of 1924 provided that the annual immigration quota of each nationality should be two per cent of the number of foreign born individuals of that nationality resident in the United States as shown by the census of 1890. This basis of apportionment was to remain in effect for three years, at the end of which time the national-origin plan of quota apportionment provided in the act was to come into force. It was provided that:

“The annual quota of any nationality for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1927, and for each fiscal year thereafter, shall be a number which bears the same ratio to 150,000 as the number of inhabitants in continental United States having that national origin…bears to the number of inhabitants in continental United States in 1920, but the minimum quota of any nationality shall be 100.”

Provision was made for the determination of the national-origin quotas by a commission made up of the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Labor. The President was to “proclaim and make known” the quotas so determined, and it was provided that: “Such proclamation shall be made on or before April 1, 1927.” The general plan of the act contemplated a three year transition period, and the coming into force at the end of that period of a permanent immigration policy where under the number to be admitted from each nation each year would be in exact relation to the contribution made by that nation to the white population of the United States as it existed in 1920.

Anti-Immigration Movement Source 4

Website:         http://americanhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/254030?terms=chinese+exclusion+act  
Citation:         "Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)." American History.
ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 12 Feb. 2012.

Summary:  This document is called The Chinese Exclusion Act (1882). This act made it illegal for people of the Chinese race to enter into the United States or become a citizen of the United States for 10 years. Before this act, the Chinese who immigrated to the U.S. were treated horribly, and given very unfair wages for their work. They were forced to live under very harsh conditions and were often attacked by Americans who believed that they were stealing job from them. The act stated that 90 days after the act was put into effect would be when the United States would stop letting Chinese immigrants into the country, and that this would continue for 10 years after the act issued. The act also declared that any person who helped a Chinese immigrant gain entry to the country would be guilty of a crime, punishable of a fine of 500 dollars for each Chinese immigrant that they were responsible for helping, and up to one year in jail. Chinese Immigrants who had already been living in America before the act, or who had immigrated to America before the 90 day period following the enactment of the act, would not be penalized for living in the United States. To make sure that the Chinese immigrants that were in the United States before the issuing of this act remain free and respected, a list of all of the Chinese immigrants in the United States at that time will be made after the 90 day period. Chinese immigrants in the United States must acquire a certificate stating that they are a citizen of the United States before leaving, if they are planning on returning to the country.

Anti-Immigration Movement Research Questions

I am learning about the effects that the Anti-Immigration Movement had on different groups of people who were immigrating to the United States because I want to find out about the discriminations that members of this movement generalized about people who were trying to enter the country. This will help me to understand the several restrictions and laws that members of this movement dedicated their lives to putting into action. Therefore, my question is: How did the Anti-Immigration Movement affect different groups of people immigrating to the United States?

What I have learned

After researching about Immigration and about the Anti-Immigration Movement as a whole, I now have a better understanding on how different groups of people were treated when trying to come into the United States and start a new life for themselves. People immigrated here so that they could live in peace and harmony in a new location where they could make a new start, but members of the Anti-Immigration Movement made this very difficult for them. Members would try to create special taxations on the states for every immigrant that they allowed into the country through that specific state. Also, the Anti-Immigration members devoted their lives to stopping immigration entirely, by trying to pass specific laws that limited the amount of people allowed into the United States, and that limited the types of people that were allowed into the country. In addition to making it nearly impossible for people to immigrate to the U.S., memebers would also force those who immigrated here to "Americanize" themselves and change to their beliefs/ethnic backgrounds to ones that were more accepted be others. The Anti-Immigration Movement was designed to discriminate against those who were interested in immigrating to the United States, and the members did all that was in their power to put a stop to immigration alltogether. The question that still remains with me is, Who were the major leaders of this movement?

Anti-Immigration Movement Source 3

1.      Website             http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CCX3401801991&v=2.1&u=deer63488&it=r&p=GVRL&sw=w

Citation:         Daniels, Roger. "Immigration Restriction." Dictionary of American History. Ed. Stanley I. Kutler. 3rd ed. Vol. 4. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003. 232-234. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 9 Feb. 2012.

Summary: This document is called “Immigration Restriction” and was written by Stanley Kutler in 2003. This piece discusses the issues surrounding immigration and the reasons for why some are against it. While there were no restrictions on immigration up until the year 1875, with the mass number of people who took advantage of the opportunity to migrate to the United States, people began to have a problem with the growing population. While some didn’t see the growing population as a huge threat, others wanted to take action right away to prevent Immigrants from coming into the United States anymore. The people who were apart of the Anti-Immigration Movement wanted to delay the number of immigrants allowed in the U.S. by putting unfair taxation on them, and by created laws against their arrival. Members of this movement passed the Page Act of 1875, which prohibited criminals and prostitutes from migrating into the U.S., and made it more difficult for any oriental people to gain entry as well. Anti-Immigration workers attempted to stop Chinese immigration completely by trying to pass laws that banned them from entering the country. Later, the workers for this movement would pass an act called the Chinese Exclusion Act, which would stop most Chinese people from immigrating into the United States. This was known to be the official start of the Anti-Immigration Movement era. The two parts of this era are broken down into two parts. One was through the years 1882 to 1943, which was one of growing discrimination and restrictions on anyone trying to immigrate to the U.S. The second part is the years that follow 1943, because although immigration restriction has changed, it still exists greatly in our Country. The Anti-Immigration Movement was responsible for creating laws such as the taxation on Immigrants, which paid the states to supervise the immigrants that came in the country through their states.

Anti-Immigration Movement Source 2

2.      Website:         (Link didn’t work)

Citation:         Hartman G. Building the Ideal Immigrant: Reconciling Lithuanianism and 100 Percent Americanism to Create a Respectable Nationalist Movement, 1870-1922. Journal Of American Ethnic History [serial online]. Fall98 1998;18(1):36. Available from: MasterFILE Premier, Ipswich, MA. Accessed February 8, 2012.

Summary: This document is called Building the Ideal Immigrant: Reconciling Lithuanianism and 100 Percent Americanism to Create a Respectable Nationalist Movement by Garry Hartman in 1998. In this piece, Hartman talks about how immigrants who came to American from Eastern and Southern Europe during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were greatly discriminated against. People in the United States (some members of the Anti-Immigration Movement) put a large amount of force on the newcomers of America to do the accepted thing, by changing themselves to act more “American like.” More specifically, this article focuses on how a particular nationality called the Lithuanians felt the pressure to “Americanize” themselves so that they would be better accepted. The article provides several example of how the Lithuanians felt that they needed to change their customs, habits, and daily activities, to be more like the Americans that surrounded them when they immigrated to America. Lithuanians felt that their patriotism was always in question. “Lithuanian Americans recognized the need to reassure the American public that particular ethnic royalties did not conflict with their loyalties to the United States.” The Lithuanian group was trying to stress that they succeed in America without losing their true identities at the same time. However, some were willing to make small changes in order to be accepted into the American society. One way that they did “Americanize” themselves was by changing part of their last names so that their ethnic background would be less distinct. Anti-Immigration members tried to limit the amount of immigrants that were allowed entry into the U.S. each year, but putting a fixed quota on how many would be admitted. This directly affected the Lithuanians who took several measures in trying to overcome Anti-Immigration in the U.S.

Anti-Immigration Movement Source 1

1. Website:         http://www.jstor.org/stable/25103317?origin=JSTOR-pdf&

Citation:         How We Restrict Immigration by Joseph H. Senner

The North American Review, Vol. 158, No. 449 (Apr., 1894), pp. 494-499

Summary: This document is a primary source and was written in 1894 by Joseph H. Senner, who was the United States Commissioner of Immigration. In this article, Senner discusses the policies that brought immigration to a “standstill.” He mentions how the hope that originally brought immigrants to the shores of the United States has been replaced by suffering and a longing for their country of origin. He is saying that not only are fewer people immigrated to this country, but the immigrants that are here are returning to their original countries. He provides statistics to support this point and talks about how certain classes of people are restricted from entry. This article stresses how the enforcement of the restrictions that the United States puts on which immigrants they allow into our country were increased, making the process very selective, and difficult. In addition, he discusses the strict and lengthy documentation requirements that immigrants needed to complete before entering the country as well. These harsh restrictions that the United States put on incoming immigrants contributed the Anti-Immigration Movement in the late 1800’s. Senner talks about how he sees immigration as being a large problem and threat to the United States, and that measures such as the harsh restrictions must be taken. “We have to look back beyond the year 1880 to find figures so low as those for the months of January and February 1894. We may well state that immigration has substantially ceased.” The main goal of members of the Anti-Immigration Movement and of Joseph Senner was to stop immigration or decrease the amount that took place, and he did what he could to accomplish this. Senner states that the number or immigrants decreased from 1800 to 1894; a statistic that shows that his goal was accomplished.

Anti-Immigration Movement

Anti-Immigration Movement (Summary)

http://americanhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/256054?terms=anti++immigration+movement

Benjamin Franklin argued that the immigration of Germans, stereotyped as "Palatine Boors" would dramatically change the overall appearance of the United States to other countries. He believed that the Germans were unable to adapt to the American lifestyle in the United States. The immigration started after the Civil War between 1870 and 1920, when around 27 million people immigrated to the U.S from Southern and East Central Europe. The Anti-immigration activists hated the idea of any other groups of people coming into the United States area, besides those who had already inhabited the area, causing them to devote their lives to keeping particular races/groups of people out of the United States. The Anti-immigration movement based its moral beliefs and goals off of racism, anti-Catholicism, and anti-Semitism, discriminating against different colored people and people with different religious backgrounds.

People that worked for the Anti-immigration movement were typically native-born white Protestants. These people were known to only value the opinions of people who shared their own common beliefs, making them known to be very xenophobic (meaning that they fear foreigners). The anti-immigration workers worked with the Legislation in Congress to ban the non-European races (also known as people from the India and Muslim world) from entering the United States, using the reasoning that “polygamists” and “anarchists” should not be allowed into the country. The Anti-immigration workers prohibited the Chinese immigrants from gaining U.S. residency, even when the Chinese had entered into the country legally. An man who was against immigrants, named Lothrop Stoddard discriminated against people who came to America, often calling European immigrants “the scum of Europe” and calling Italian immigrants “Mulattoes.” Members of this movement were known to be very racist, and were often very persistent in making it clear to the immigrants that they did not want them in the U.S.

The anti-immigration movement was based around the idea that immigrants were not capable of adjusting to the people, ideas, and culture that was in the United States. Members of this movement believed that it was impossible for immigrants to contribute or even understand the American government, and didn’t think that they would be loyal to the country. If members of this movement were unable to stop immigrants from entering the U.S., their next goal was to “Americanize” them as much as possible, eliminating any prior characteristics or cultural traits that they had carried over from their former country.

Some of the main accomplishments of the Anti-immigration workers were the Quota Acts of 1921 and 1923. The acts limited each nationality to an annual immigration of 3% of its population already in the United States. For the 3% that were allowed into the U.S., they were forced to adapt to the ideas and cultures in the country because they were surrounded by American culture and nothing else. While the work of the members of the anti-immigration movement decreased in the years to follow the acts, anti-immigration sparked back up again in the late 1800’s when Pat Buchanan asked for new regulations on immigration. 

Past---->Present---->Future?

Racial discrimination is something that has been a very important issue in the past, the present, and now some are forced to question if it will still be a problem in the future. In the past, many African Americans have been treated with little respect, causing them to fight for their freedoms. While we have advanced technologically, financially, and in many other ways, our society is still faced with the question of if it has advanced freedoms for blacks society. In the past, blacks were faced with unfair trials, unfair educations, and in some cases were even killed for no apparent reason. On February 5th, 1999, an African American man was killed for by 4 white policemen for no reason. The reports said that the 22 year old man was shot 41 times in the entrance of his apartment building. After reading this article, I was completely shocked by the fact that white police men could feel that they had so much more power over another human being simply because of their skin color. The policemen that shot this innocent man did not even say that there was a clear reason for why they acted in the violent way they did. The black man was not armed, and was not causing any harm to the policemen, making their actions in murdering this man completely unacceptable and unforgivable. The impact that this may have on African Americans is a very negative one because it causes them to go back to the stage of fear that they had been living their lives in, before the Civil War. Whites are not superior to blacks, and therefore should not by any means get away with unacceptable actions of this kind. While for a long time many thought that our Country had moved forward from these kind of incidents, and that blacks had gained rights, recent tragedies have shown otherwise. Recently, on January 12th 2012, a landlord in Cincinnati put a sign on her pool that denied entry of any blacks into the pool. Her reasoning behind this racist act towards an entire group of people was because of a black girls hair products that had run off of her hair into the pool. This recent act of discrimination proves that blacks are still being discriminated against today and that it needs to be stopped. We have seen racist acts against blacks in the past, we have seen them in the present, and we must make sure that this kind of discrimination does not occur in the future.