Dillingham Commission
Encyclopedia
The United States Immigration Commission was a special congressional committee
formed in February 1907 by the United States Congress
, which was then under intense pressure from various nativist
groups, to study the origins and consequences of recent immigration to the United States
. It was a joint committee
composed of members of both the House
and Senate
.
It is generally known as the Dillingham Commission, after the commission's chair, Senator William P. Dillingham
of Vermont
. The joint commission also included U.S. Senators Henry Cabot Lodge
of Massachusetts
and Asbury Latimer
of South Carolina
(replaced in 1910 by Senator LeRoy Percy
of Mississippi
); U.S. Representatives Benjamin F. Howell, William S. Bennet
, and John L. Burnett
; as well as Charles P. Neill
of the Department of Labor
, Jeremiah Jenks
of Cornell University
, and William R. Wheeler, the California Commissioner of Immigration.
The Commission ended its work in 1911, concluding that immigration from southern
and eastern Europe
posed a serious threat to American society and culture and should be greatly reduced in the future. The Commission proposed the enactment of a "reading and writing test
as the most feasible single method of restricting undesirable immigration" (Commission Recommendations, vol. I, p. 48).
The Commission's overall findings provided the rationale for sweeping 1920s immigration reduction
acts, including the Emergency Quota Act
of 1921, which favored immigration from northern
and western Europe
by restricting the annual number of immigrants from any given country to 3 percent of the total number of people from that country living in the United States in 1910.
The movement for immigration restriction that the Dillingham Commission helped to stimulate culminated in the National Origins Formula
, part of the Immigration Act of 1924
, which capped national immigration at 150,000 annually and completely barred immigration from Asia
.
Reports of the Immigration Commission. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1911--
United States Congressional committee
A congressional committee is a legislative sub-organization in the United States Congress that handles a specific duty . Committee membership enables members to develop specialized knowledge of the matters under their jurisdiction...
formed in February 1907 by the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, which was then under intense pressure from various nativist
Nativism (politics)
Nativism favors the interests of certain established inhabitants of an area or nation as compared to claims of newcomers or immigrants. It may also include the re-establishment or perpetuation of such individuals or their culture....
groups, to study the origins and consequences of recent immigration to the United States
Immigration to the United States
Immigration to the United States has been a major source of population growth and cultural change throughout much of the history of the United States. The economic, social, and political aspects of immigration have caused controversy regarding ethnicity, economic benefits, jobs for non-immigrants,...
. It was a joint committee
Joint committee
A Joint Committee is a term in politics that is used to refer to a committee made up of members of both chambers of a bicameral legislature. In other contexts, it refers to a committee with members from more than one organization.-Republic of Ireland:...
composed of members of both the House
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
and Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
.
It is generally known as the Dillingham Commission, after the commission's chair, Senator William P. Dillingham
William P. Dillingham
William Paul Dillingham was an American Republican politician from the state of Vermont.-Early life:The son of Vermont Governor Paul Dillingham, William P. Dillingham was born on December 12, 1843, in Waterbury, Vermont, where he later attended the public schools...
of Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
. The joint commission also included U.S. Senators Henry Cabot Lodge
Henry Cabot Lodge
Henry Cabot "Slim" Lodge was an American Republican Senator and historian from Massachusetts. He had the role of Senate Majority leader. He is best known for his positions on Meek policy, especially his battle with President Woodrow Wilson in 1919 over the Treaty of Versailles...
of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
and Asbury Latimer
Asbury Latimer
Asbury Churchwell Latimer was a United States Representative and Senator from South Carolina. Born near Lowndesville, South Carolina, he attended the common schools, engaged in agricultural pursuits, and in 1880 moved to Belton, South Carolina and devoted his time to farming.Latimer was elected as...
of South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
(replaced in 1910 by Senator LeRoy Percy
LeRoy Percy
LeRoy Percy was a wealthy planter from Greenville, Mississippi in the heart of the Delta. He attended the University of Virginia, where he was a member of the Chi Phi Fraternity. He served as United States Senator from Mississippi from 1910 to 1913...
of Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
); U.S. Representatives Benjamin F. Howell, William S. Bennet
William S. Bennet
William Stiles Bennet was a U.S. Representative from New York, father of Augustus Witschief Bennet.-Biography:Born in Port Jervis, New York, Bennet attended the common schools....
, and John L. Burnett
John L. Burnett
John Lawson Burnett was a U.S. Representative from Alabama.Born in Cedar Bluff, Alabama, Burnett attended the common schools of the county, Wesleyan Institute, Cave Spring, Georgia, and the local high school at Gaylesville, Alabama.He studied law and was graduated from Vanderbilt University,...
; as well as Charles P. Neill
Charles P. Neill
Charles Patrick Neill was an American civil servant who raised in Austin, Texas after his family emigrated from Ireland in 1850. Neill graduated from Johns Hopkins University in 1897 with a doctorate in economics and politics. He was appointed the United States Commissioner of Labor in 1906 by...
of the Department of Labor
United States Department of Labor
The United States Department of Labor is a Cabinet department of the United States government responsible for occupational safety, wage and hour standards, unemployment insurance benefits, re-employment services, and some economic statistics. Many U.S. states also have such departments. The...
, Jeremiah Jenks
Jeremiah Jenks
Jeremiah Whipple Jenks, Ph.D., LL.D. was an American economist and educator, born at Saint Clair, Michigan. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1878, studied for several years in Germany, taking his doctorate from the University of Halle in 1885, and after his return to the United...
of Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, and William R. Wheeler, the California Commissioner of Immigration.
The Commission ended its work in 1911, concluding that immigration from southern
Southern Europe
The term Southern Europe, at its most general definition, is used to mean "all countries in the south of Europe". However, the concept, at different times, has had different meanings, providing additional political, linguistic and cultural context to the definition in addition to the typical...
and eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
posed a serious threat to American society and culture and should be greatly reduced in the future. The Commission proposed the enactment of a "reading and writing test
Literacy test
A literacy test, in the context of United States political history, refers to the government practice of testing the literacy of potential citizens at the federal level, and potential voters at the state level. The federal government first employed literacy tests as part of the immigration process...
as the most feasible single method of restricting undesirable immigration" (Commission Recommendations, vol. I, p. 48).
The Commission's overall findings provided the rationale for sweeping 1920s immigration reduction
Immigration reduction
Immigration reduction refers to a movement in the United States that advocates a reduction in the amount of immigration allowed into the country. Steps advocated for reducing the numbers of immigrants include advocating stronger action to prevent illegal entry and illegal immigration, and...
acts, including the Emergency Quota Act
Emergency Quota Act
The Emergency Quota Act, also known as the Emergency Immigration Act of 1921, the Immigration Restriction Act of 1921, the Per Centum Law, and the Johnson Quota Act restricted immigration into the United States...
of 1921, which favored immigration from northern
Northern Europe
Northern Europe is the northern part or region of Europe. Northern Europe typically refers to the seven countries in the northern part of the European subcontinent which includes Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Finland and Sweden...
and western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
by restricting the annual number of immigrants from any given country to 3 percent of the total number of people from that country living in the United States in 1910.
The movement for immigration restriction that the Dillingham Commission helped to stimulate culminated in the National Origins Formula
National Origins Formula
The National Origins Formula was an American system of immigration quotas, between 1921 and 1965, which restricted immigration on the basis of existing proportions of the population. The goal was to maintain the existing ethnic composition of the United States...
, part of the Immigration Act of 1924
Immigration Act of 1924
The Immigration Act of 1924, or Johnson–Reed Act, including the National Origins Act, and Asian Exclusion Act , was a United States federal law that limited the annual number of immigrants who could be admitted from any country to 2% of the number of people from that country who were already...
, which capped national immigration at 150,000 annually and completely barred immigration from Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
.
Dillingham Commission reports
In 1911, the Dillingham Commission issued a 41-volume report containing statistical overviews and other analyses of topics related to immigrant occupations, living conditions, education, legislation (at the state as well as the federal level), and social and cultural organizations. A planned 42nd volume, an index of the other 41 volumes, was never issued.Reports of the Immigration Commission. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1911--
- Volumes 1-2: Abstracts of Reports of The Immigration Commission, with Conclusions and Recommendations and Views of the Minority.
- Volume 3: Frederick Croxton. Statistical Review of Immigration, 1820-1910. Distribution of Immigrants, 1850-1900.
- Volume 4: Emigration Conditions in Europe.
- Volume 5: Daniel Folkmar, assisted by Elnora Folkmar. Dictionary of Races or People.
- Volumes 6-7: W. Jett Lauck. Bituminous Coal Mining.
- Volumes 8-9: W. Jett Lauck. Iron and Steel Manufacturing.
- Volume 10: W. Jett Lauck. Cotton Goods Manufacturing in the North Atlantic States; Woolen and Worsted Goods Manufacturing.
- Volume 11: Silk Goods and Manufacturing and Dyeing; Clothing Manufacturing; Collar, Cuff, and Shirt Manufacturing.
- Volume 12: W. Jett Lauck. Leather Manufacturing; Boot and Shoe Manufacturing; Glove Manufacturing.
- Volume 13: W. Jett Lauck. Slaughtering and Meat Packing.
- Volume 14: W. Jett Lauck. Glass Manufacturing; Agricultural Implement and Vehicle Manufacturing.
- Volume 15: W. Jett Lauck. Cigar and Tobacco Manufacturing; Furniture Manufacturing; Sugar Refining.
- Volume 16: W. Jett Lauck. Copper Mining and Smelting; Iron Ore Mining; Anthracite Coal Mining; Oil Refining.
- Volumes 17-18: W. Jett Lauck. Diversified Industries.Washington: G.P.O., 1911.
- Volumes 19-20: W. Jett Lauck. Summary Report on Immigrants in Manufacturing and Mining.
- Volumes 21-22: Alexander Cance. Recent Immigrants in Agriculture.
- Volumes 23-25: Harry A. MillisHarry A. MillisHarry Alvin Millis was an American civil servant, economist, and educator and who was prominent in the first four decades of the 20th century. He was a prominent educator, and his writings on labor relations were described at his death by several prominent economists as "landmarks"...
. Japanese and Other Immigrant Races in the Pacific Coast and Rocky Mountain States. - Volumes 26-27: Emanuel A. Goldenweiser. Immigrants in Cities: A Study of the Population of Selected Districts in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Cleveland, Buffalo, and Milwaukee.
- Volume 28: Joseph Hill. Occupations of the First and Second Generations of Immigrants in the United States; Fecundity of Immigrant Women.
- Volumes 29-33: The Children of Immigrants in Schools.
- Volumes 34-35: Immigrants as Charity Seekers.
- Volume 36: Leslie Hayford. Immigration and Crime.
- Volume 37: Steerage Conditions, Importation and Harboring of Women for Immoral Purposes, Immigrant Homes and Aid Societies, Immigrant Banks.
- Volume 38: Changes in Bodily Form of Descendants of Immigrants: (Final Report).
- Volume 39: Immigration Legislation.
- Volume 40: The Immigration Situation in other Countries: Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Brazil.
- Volume 41: Statements and Recommendations Submitted by Societies and Organizations Interested in the Subject of Immigration.