On this day in 1924, President Calvin Coolidge signs into law
the Comprehensive Immigration Act, the most stringent
immigration policy up to that time in the nation's history. The
new law reflected the desire of Americans to isolate themselves
from the world after fighting the terrible First World War in
Europe, which exacerbated growing fears of the spread of
communist ideas. It also reflected the pervasiveness of racial
discrimination in American society at the time. Many Americans
saw the enormous influx of largely unskilled, uneducated
immigrants during the early 1900s as causing unfair competition
for jobs and land. Under the new law, immigration remained open
to those with a college education and/or special skills, but
entry was denied to Mexicans, and disproportionately to Eastern
and Southern Europeans and Japanese. At the same time, the
legislation allowed for more immigration from Northern European
nations such as Britain, Ireland and Scandinavian countries. A
quota was set that limited immigration