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Mexican-American War
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. This is where Mexico
lost half of its territory, and the United States gained Texas, New Mexico, California, Arizona,
Nevada, Utah and half of Colorado. https://sites.google.com/site/politicalcausesofcivilwar/mexican-american-war -
Foreign Minerʼs Tax
The Gold Rush in California increases immigration from China. California imposes Foreign Minerʼs Tax and enforces it mainly against Chinese miners, who were often forced to pay more than once. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
This prevented any Chinese without family already in the United States from immigrating. -
Anarchist Exclusion Act
This allowed immigrants to be excluded on the basis of their
political opinions. -
Gentlemanʼs Agreement
The United States agreed not to restrict Japanese
immigration, but in exchange, Japan promises not to issue passports to Japanese laborers for travel to the continental United States. -
The Quota Act
This limited annual European immigration to 3 percent of the number of a nationality group already living in the United States. -
The Oriental Exclusion Act
This prohibited most immigration from Asia ASIA, including foreign-born wives and children of U.S. citizens. It's important to note that the act places no limit on immigration within the hemisphere, which caused the immigration from Mexico to increase as employers looked south to find cheap labor. -
The War Brides Act
This allowed foreign-born wives of U.S. citizens who had served in the U.S. armed forces to enter the United States. -
The Internal Security Act
This let bars admission to any foreigner who was a Communist or who might engage in activities “which would be prejudicial to the public interest, or would endanger the welfare or safety of the United States.” -
Operation Wetback
This forced the return of many undocumented workers to Mexico. -
Immigration and Nationality Act
The law was passed with the intent to make the immigration system at least seem more fair toward people of color. The authors did not
foresee the radical consequences that it would have on the demographics of the United States. -
Refugee Act
Under this law, refugees are defined as those who flee a country because of persecution “on account of race, religion, nationality, or political opinion.” -
Immigration Reform and Control Act
IRCA made it difficult for undocumented to find employment, while at the same time providing business with a reliable supply of cheap labor. -
Welfare Reform
This ended many forms of cash and medical assistance for most legal immigrants and other low-income individuals. -
The Immigration Act of 1990
This increased the number of immigrants allowed into the United States each year to 700,000.
