What was the purpose of the Emergency Quota Act of 1921?

The Emergency Quota Act of 1921 aimed to restrict immigration to the United States, specifically by instituting quotas that limited the number of immigrants from various countries. This legislation was motivated by a desire to control the influx of immigrants and was particularly focused on reducing the number of people coming from Southern and Eastern European countries, which were perceived as having higher rates of immigration at that time.

The act established numerical limits based on a percentage of the foreign-born population from each nationality already residing in the U.S. as of 1890, thus favoring immigrants from Northern and Western Europe. This quota system was a reflection of the nativist sentiments prevalent in American society during that period, aiming to preserve what was seen as the country's cultural homogeneity and to address workforce concerns. The act marked a significant shift in U.S. immigration policy, as it was one of the first federal laws to set numerical limits on immigration based on nationality.