There were many causes for the immigration acts of the 1920s--acts which limited the amount of immigrants who came to the United States. Firstly, immigrants from southern and eastern Europe, Asia, and other parts of the world came in increasing numbers, taking the place of the traditional and somewhat accepted immigrants, immigrants from northern and western Europe. That these new immigrants were often of a different religion (Catholic) and spoke various languages sparked nativist sentiments amongst many American citizens. Secondly, this nativism had found a powerful voice in the Ku Klux Klan, and vigilante groups in other parts of the nation were just as strong. Thirdly, the closing of World War I promised a deluge of European immigrants seeking asylum in the United States. Many Americans reacted to this rumor unfavorably, and so Congress passed the Emergency Immigration Act of 1921. This law stipulated that immigration from European nations was restricted to three percent of that immigration in the year 1910. However, this law was ineffective in the eyes of nativists; nearly a quarter of a million immigrants from southern and eastern Europe still came to the United States each year. Consequently, in 1924 Congress passed the National Origins Quota Act. The overall quota for European immigrants was set at 150 000, and most of these vacancies were reserved to immigrants from northern and western Europe. Also, the base year for immigration numbers was changed from 1910 to 1890, a year showing less immigration from southern and eastern European countries. This system of quota legislation lasted until the mid-twentieth century.
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