Discrimination against Italian immigrants in American history Fear is a great motivator in man. In the 1920s, immigrants came to the United States en masse. 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 displeasure toward them. Italians constituted 11.8%, or 550,460 immigrants between the years 1920 and 1930 (Historical Statistics, 456). These people received an extraordinary amount of dislike because they differed from white America in so many ways. When people began to immigrate to America at the rate of five thousand people per day after World War I, people began to bring their opinions into the political arena as well as the social one. In 1921, Congress passed the first legislation introducing immigration quotas. The first quota reduced the number of immigrants to 3% of the country's total population according to the 1910 census. Xenophobia and hatred towards immigrants continued to increase in the following years, accumulating in the National Origins Act of 1924, or as it is commonly known, Johnson Act. This act further limited immigration to 2% of the US population based on the 1890 census. Both of these acts passed with overwhelming majorities voting in their favor. During this time, many social movements were occurring 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 try to unite people around a central idea to gain this support... middle of paper... to, and we can begin to break the cycle of hate by continuing further into 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”. Cultures of American immigrants. 19974. Caporole, Rocco. Italian Americans across generations. New York: The American Italian Historical Association, 19865. The urban experience of Italian Americans Ed. Pat Gallo. New York: The American Italian 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: The American Italian Historical Association, 19878. “Want Immigrants on Farms.” New York Times June 6 1920.