100 Years Ago Today
America committed its biggest immigration blunder on May 26, 1924. We're at risk of making the same mistake today.
Dear Friends,
Today is the centenary of the 1924 National Origins Act, the biggest immigration blunder in the history of the United States. If you’ve never heard about it, I urge you to learn more. You can find a good primer here.
(TL;DR Fueled by xenophobic fear, America banned all immigration from Asia and reduced Southern and Eastern European arrivals by over 90%.)
To commemorate the occasion, I wrote an oped published by The Hill this morning.
I make two main points that commonly get overlooked:
The law created massive long-term economic, social, and cultural damage to America.
Misinformed by the same bad arguments as in the past, we’re at real risk of committing the same blunder today.
It’s no coincidence that I timed my book to come out exactly 100 years after the National Origins Act. The conditions leading to the historic blunder are scarily similar to those in the present—some misguided groups are even celebrating the anniversary of the 1924 law.
Getting the facts and the lessons of history right is relevant not only in the US. The same heated debate on the merits of welcoming newcomers is happening all around the world: England, Chile, France, Colombia, Italy, Australia, and so on.
Despite my concerns, I’m optimistic that we’ll make better choices this time around. We have better evidence now to combat the “immigrants as villains” narrative that won the day a hundred years ago.
We have to get it right—for the sake of our families, organizations, and communities.
Thank you, and until next time.
Zeke
PS: If you’re intrigued and want to learn even more about the National Origins Act, a few suggestions: