United States immigration from 1860 to the late 20th century

Because immigration law can be extremely conflict-ridden, immigration policies are rarely updated in the United States, a nation that depends heavily on immigrants. The need for strict immigration laws seems misguided given that immigrants have acquired citizenship throughout American history and that immigration has added to the social and economic advancements that helped lay the groundwork for the United States of America as a nation. Large-scale immigration occurred at a time when the American economy and culture were undergoing significant changes, such as the Westward Expansion of the 19th century and the late 20th century. The westward expansion from 1860 allowed the young nation to become an agricultural economy instead of a colonial power. In the industrial revolution period, the America society was propelled by the manufacturing economy and gain influence in world matters. The large-scale immigration that started from the 1970s and continues coincided with globalization effects as production industry had faded to become a 21st-century knowledge-based economy. Immigration helps the United States to become accustomed to new economic practicalities.

In the immigration processes, animosity has been revealed toward visitors who lived the American dream, Chinese laborers, in particular, have been denied rights of citizenship by use of legislative measures. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 restricted Chinese naturalization, required all Chinese immigrants who were not legally accepted to be deported and barred immigration of Chinese laborers for ten years. The Geary Act was passed in 1892 to extend the Chinese Exclusion Act for ten more years. The restrictive laws were misguided as America, as always, has a need for the labor force that sustains the country’s economy.

Economic analysis reveals that no evidence supports the argument that immigration in the form of foreign labor has reduced American’s wages or jobs. The foreign-born share of U.S population from 1860 onwards has aided many academic studies and economic theory predictions to confirm that immigration has no effect on wages and the financial impacts of immigration are typically progressive for the overall economy and natives. Evidence suggests that firms increase investments to accommodate the growth of labor as a result of immigration to keep the average wages from falling over the long term. Immigration is also a good contributor to the government’s economic achievements as many immigrants are bound by the law to pay taxes and use less government services.

Conclusively, the United States exists as the biggest immigration populace in the modern world after years of immigration opportunities. In truth, immigrants have contributed to the American society and economy in the most significant way ever. From 1860 onwards, immigration peaks have coincided with major transformations in the United States society and economy, case in point the westward expansion and the globalization effect that started in the 1970s. As for the immigration policies, history reveals that the Native American population has not embraced change in the form of immigration well and economically, immigration has always presented America with new opportunities.

Bibliography

Abramitzky, Ran, and Leah Platt Boustan. Immigration in American Economic History. No. w21882. National Bureau of Economic Research, 2016.

Alba, Richard, and Nancy Foner. “Comparing immigrant integration in North America and Western Europe: How much do the grand narratives tell us?.” International Migration Review 48, no. s1 (2014).

PPI, Wharton. “The Effects of Immigration on The United States’ Economy”. Penn Wharton Budget Model. (2017). http://www.budgetmodel.wharton.upenn.edu/issues/2016/1/27/the-effects-of-immigration-on-the-united-states-economy.