Passage of the 1924 Immigration Act | Teaching American History
On May 26, 1924, President Calvin Coolidge signed the Johnson-Reed Act, the first federal law in American history designed to establish permanent, comprehensive restrictions on immigration. It came at the end of a long, contentious process that debated the nature of American citizenship and identity along with the perceived merits and hazards of mass immigration. The law is rightly regarded as one of the triumphs of American nativism and a pivotal moment in the history of U.S. immigration policy.
