"We have within our gates many newcomers... the question is whether we are not now to set up a fence to limit those who shall come hereafter." — Senator David Reed, 1924
The chart and the senator's statement together best support which conclusion about 1920s immigration policy?
- A
The 1924 act treated all national origins equally.
- B
The act ended all immigration to the United States.
- C
The act expanded immigration from Asia.
- Dcheck_circle
Quotas were deliberately set to favor northern and western European immigrants while sharply limiting southern, eastern European, and Asian arrivals.
Explanation
The National Origins Act based quotas on the 1890 census, deliberately preserving the older Anglo-Germanic demographic and excluding "undesirable" groups. Asian immigration was almost entirely barred (the Asiatic Barred Zone was already in place).