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A Boston Union Urges Immigration Restriction (with text supports)

In 1896 Congress passed a bill which would require all immigrants to be able to read at least 40 words in any language in order to enter the country. The bill was supported by the Immigration Restriction League. They worried that the increasing number of immigrants from Italy and Eastern Europe would drive down wages and not be able to become useful members of American society. As part of its campaign to get the literacy requirement bill passed, the League sent out the petition below to many unions and civic organizations as a way to pressure Congress to pass the bill. President Grover Cleveland, however, disagreed with Congress and vetoed the bill.


Source | Immigration Restriction League (U.S.); Records, 1893-1921; Series III, Scrapbook; Immigration Restriction League. Scrapbook, 1896-1898; MS Am 2245 (1054), v. 1. Houghton Library, Harvard University.
Creator | Immigration Restriction League
Item Type | Pamphlet/Petition
Cite This document | Immigration Restriction League, “A Boston Union Urges Immigration Restriction (with text supports),” SHEC: Resources for Teachers, accessed March 19, 2024, https://shec.ashp.cuny.edu/items/show/1868.

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