Discrimination of Italian Immigrants in American HistoryFear is a great motivator in humans. In the 1920s, immigrants flocked to the United States in large numbers. Most of these immigrants came from Southern or Eastern Europe, parts of Asia, and Mexico. Because these groups differed in culture, race, and religion from the majority of white Americans, as the immigrant population grew, so did hostility and discontent toward them. Italians made up 11.8%, or 550,460 immigrants between the 1920s and 1930s (Historical Statistics, 456). These people received extraordinary dislike because they differed from white America in many ways. When people began immigrating to America at the rate of five thousand people per day after World War I, people began to assert their opinions in the political realm as well as in the social realm. In 1921, Congress passed the first law establishing immigration quotas. The first quota reduced the number of immigrants to 3% of the country's total population according to the 1910 census. of 1924, or as it is commonly known, the Johnson Act. This law further limited immigration to 2% of the U.S. population based on the 1890 census. These laws both passed with an overwhelming majority voting for them. At this time, many social movements were taking place in America, such as the labor movement, the temperance movement, and the reactionary movements of many white Protestant groups, and all were seeking public support. Often these groups would try to unify people around a central idea in order to gain that support...... middle of paper ......a, and we can begin to break the cycle of hate and prevent it from continuing further. the future.Work Cited:1. "Immigration." Collier Encyclopedia. 1997 ed.2. United States Department of Commerce. Census Bureau. Historical Statistics of the United States. pt. 1. Washington: 1975.3. “Italians”. American Immigrant Cultures. 19974. Caporole, Rocco. Italian Americans through the generations. New York: The American Italian Historical Association, 19865. The urban experience of Italian-Americans Ed. Pat Gallo. New York: Italian American Historical Association, 19756. “Our Immigration Dilemma.” New York Times May 2, 1920.7. Vecoli, Rudolph J., Italian Immigrants in Rural and Small Town America. New York: American-Italian Historical Association, 19878. “Want Immigrants on Farms.” New York Times June 6 1920.