ABSTRACT
Commenting on the effect of war hysteria on ethnic policy, John Higham muses: "Suddenly conscious of the presence of millions of unassimilated people in their midst, Americans quaked with fear of their potential disloyalty." Setting aside considerations of racial or national "superiority," a growing conviction that ethnic diversity could lead to political instability began to take hold after the First World War, which plunged the United States into the traditional hostilities among European nations. An increased emphasis on national security just before America's entry into the Second World War gave rise to new measures which tightened controls on aliens. The concern for national security made it logical for the Executive branch of government to assume greater responsibilities with regard to aliens and immigrants. The only aliens who would not have to be fingerprinted were diplomats and children under fourteen years of age.
