Closing the Gates: A Timeline of U.S. Immigration Restriction

Which development best represents the rise of nativism before federal exclusion laws were passed?

• National Quota Acts in 1924

• Know-Nothing Party forms mid-1850s

• Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

• Gentlemen’s Agreement of 1907

What was the primary target of the Know-Nothing Party’s early nativist activism?

• All Asian immigrants equally

• Irish and German Catholics

• Northern European Protestants

• Japanese immigrants and laborers

Which law is identified as the first major federal act to ban an entire ethnic group of laborers?

• National Quota Act of 1921

• Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

• Gentlemen’s Agreement of 1907

• National Origins Act of 1924

The Gentlemen’s Agreement of 1907 is best described as which type of measure?

• Formal treaty with Europe

• Informal pact

• Executive order banning Asians

• Congressional quota statute

What did the National Quota Acts of 1921 and 1924 primarily do to U.S. immigration?

• Drastically cut immigration

• Ended all deportations

• Eliminated literacy tests

• Raised Asian immigration

Which groups were favored under the quota system shown in the diagram?

• Latin American immigrants

• Northern Europeans

• Southern Europeans

• Asian immigrants

Match each policy or movement to its key characteristic shown in the diagram.

• Favors Northern Europeans via quotas

• National Quota Acts

• Restricts Japanese laborers informally

• Know-Nothing Party

• Targets Irish and German Catholics

• Gentlemen’s Agreement

• Bans an ethnic group of laborers

• Chinese Exclusion Act

Which outcomes are identified as social and economic impacts of exclusionary policies? Select all that apply.

• Segregated communities

• Reduced economic output

• Improved foreign relations

• Damaged U.S. foreign relations

What long-term legal effect is highlighted at the end of the timeline?

• Universal amnesty for immigrants

• Immediate repeal of all quotas

• A precedent for restrictive, race-based law

• Expansion of open-border policies

Place these events in chronological order as shown on the diagram: Know-Nothing Party, Chinese Exclusion Act, Gentlemen’s Agreement, National Quota Acts.

• Know-Nothing → Chinese Exclusion → Gentlemen’s → Quota Acts

• Chinese Exclusion → Know-Nothing → Gentlemen’s → Quota Acts

• Know-Nothing → Gentlemen’s → Chinese Exclusion → Quota Acts

• Gentlemen’s → Chinese Exclusion → Quota Acts → Know-Nothing