Citation

Stockwell AW. Am. J. Sociol. 1927; 32(5): 742-755.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1927, University of Chicago Press)

DOI

10.1086/214236

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Immigration is a composite problem that, in one form or another, has existed ever since the landing of the Pilgrims. Moreover, we are likely, in spite of the radical legislation expressed in the quota law, to harbor this problem for many years to come. The distance traversed in the advance from our laissez faire attitude of the early days to the adoption of the restrictive features of the Immigration Act of 1924 suggests a revolutionary change in both our theory and our practice. The various steps by which this advance has been made present an object lesson of what might be termed sociological evolution, and serve to demonstrate the ability of the American democracy to work out its own salvation.