02:00pm - 04:00pm  Jews and the Rise of U.S. Immigration Restrictions in the 1920s

Speaker: Dr. Libby Garland In 1921 and 1924, Congress passed legislation intended to reduce the influx of immigrants to the U.S. These laws allocated only small quotas for southern and eastern Europe, and banned almost all immigration from Asia. Their purpose was to limit the number of foreigners considered inferior and a threat to the nation. Jews, heavily represented in early twentieth-century immigration to the United States, were among the prime targets of the laws. In this talk, Dr. Libby Garland discusses the responses of Jews both in the United States and abroad to these new restrictions on immigration, including the ...