ABSTRACT
Believingthattheirlandwasfullypopulatedandtheirnatural resourcesnearexhaustion,Americanstowardtheendofthe nineteenthcenturybegantolookwithamorecriticaleyeat thefloodofimmigrantscrowdingthecountrystillfurther.Duringtheperi.odbetween188oand1914,thenumberofimmigrantseachyearaveragedabout1percentofthepopulation, andaboutoneofeveryseveninhabitantsoftheUnitedStates wasforeign-born.Anynativewhofeltcrowdedoranynative workmanwhowasforanyreasonunemployedmighteasily resentthegreatandcontinuingflowofforeigners.Therewere, ofcourse,manygrounds,otherthanthepurelyeconomicone, thathadlongsincecreatedhostilitytowardsimmigration,or atleastsomeimmigrantgroups.Butalthoughantipathy foundedondifferencesofreligion,race,language,mannersand politicalhabitshadpreviouslygivenrisetolocaldisturbances, nofederalcontrolofimmigrationexisteduntilwellafterthe CivilWar.Indeed,aslateas188gthecontrolofimmigration wasstillinpartexercisedbythestates,asthereportofa congressionalcommittee(19)shows.
