Relevant Legislation:
1917: Added to the exclusion list were illiterates, persons of
psychopathic inferiority, men as well as women entering for immoral
purposes, alcoholics, stowaways, and vagrants.
1921: The first quantitative immigration law was adopted. It set
temporary annual quotas according to nationality. A book review of Not
Like Us: Immigrants and Minorities in America, 1890-1924, which
discusses this period is available here.
1924: The first permanent immigration quota law established a
preference quota system, nonquota status, and consular control
system. It also established the Border Patrol.
1929: The annual quotas of the 1924 Act were made permanent.
1943: Legislation provided for the importation of agricultural workers
from North, South, and Central America--the basis of the "Bracero
Program." At the same time the Chinese exclusion laws were repealed.
1946: Procedures were adopted to facilitate immigration of
foreign-born wives, fiance(e)s, husbands, and children of U.S. armed
forces personnel.
1948: The first U.S. policy was adopted for admitting persons fleeing
persecution. It permitted 205,000 refugees to enter the United States
over two years (later increased to 415,000).
1950: The grounds for exclusion and deportation of subversives were
expanded. All aliens were required to report their address annually.
1952: The multiple laws which governed immigration and naturalization
to that time were brought into one comprehensive statute. It (1)
reaffirmed the national origins quota system, (2) limited immigration
from the Eastern Hemisphere while leaving the Western Hemisphere
unrestricted, (3) established preferences for skilled workers and
relatives of U.S. citizens and permanent resident aliens; and (4)
tightened security and screening standards and procedures.
1953: The 1948 law was increased to admit over 200,000 refugees above
the existing limit.
1965: The national origins quota system was abolished. But still
maintained was the principle of numerical restriction by establishing
170,000 Hemispheric and 20,000 per country ceilings and a
seven-category preference system (favoring close relatives of
U.S. citizens and permanent resident aliens, those with needed
occupational skills, and refugees) for the Eastern Hemisphere and a
separate 120,000 ceiling for the Western Hemisphere.
Other events:
The domination of Eastern Europe by Germany in the 30s closed many of
the doors that had been available to those looking to emigrate to the
United States. That, combined with the limitations on immigration
from US legislation, and the effect of the Depression on the national
and world economy, accounted for the sharp drop in immigration in the
1930s. After the end of World War II, a number of legislative efforts
to allow refugees into the country contributed to the increase in
immigration.
[Data and the "Relevant Legislation" section, up to "Other Events",
are taken from
http://www.fairus.org/Research/Research.cfm?ID=1820&c=2
1910: 48.4/51.8
1911: 50.9/54.4
1912: 51.5/55.9
1913: 50.3/55.0
1914: 52.0/56.8
1915: 52.5/56.8
1916: 49.6/54.3
1917: 48.4/54.0
1918: 36.6/42.2
1919: 53.5/56.0
1920: 53.6/54.6
1921: 60.0/61.8
1922: 48.4/61.0
1923: 56.1/58.5
1924: 58.1/61.5
1925: 57.6/60.6
1926: 56.5/58.0
1927: 59.0/62.1
1929: 55.6/58.3
1929: 55.8/58.7
1930: 58.1/61.6
1931: 59.4/63.1
1932: 61.0/63.5
1933: 61.7/65.1
1934: 59.3/63.3
1935: 59.9/63.9
1936: 56.6/60.6
1937: 58.0/62.4
1938: 61.9/65.3
1939: 62.1/65.4
1940: 60.8/65.2
1941: 63.1/66.8
1942: 64.7/67.9
1943: 62.4/64.4
1944: 63.6/66.8
1945: 63.6/67.9
1946: 64.4/69.4
1947: 64.4/69.7
1948: 64.6/69.9
1949: 66.2/70.7
1950: 65.6/71.1
1951: 65.6/71.4
1952: 65.8/71.6
1953: 66.0/72.0
1954: 63.7/72.8
1955: 66.7/72.8
1956: 66.7/72.9
1957: 66.4/72.7
1958: 66.6/72.9
1959: 66.8/73.2
1960: 66.6/73.1
1961: 67.1/73.6
1962: 66.9/73.5
1963: 66.6/73.4
1964: 63.8/73.7
1965: 66.8/73.8
(Life expectancy data is from CDC data.)
The advent of WWI increased inflation substantially, as world economic markets felt the turmoil in Europe. The Depression period saw a substantial decrease in the CPI, as deflationary pressures ran rampant. The US entry into World War II, and the subsequent war-footing of the economy, increased inflation substantially due to the significant capital borrowing to fund the construction of the American war machine. The increase in inflation in 1947 was due in part to the large number of workers who had returned from war and entered the workforce, driving up the amount of money that was available to the average American consumer.
Year | Nominal GDP (billions of dollars) |
Real GDP (billions of 2000 dollars) |
GDP Deflator (index 2000=100) |
Population (in millions) |
Nominal GDP per Capita (current dollars) |
Real GDP per Capita (2000 dollars) |
1910 | $31.30 | $472.70 | 6.62 | 92.41 | $338.00 | $5,110 |
1911 | $32.24 | $487.80 | 6.61 | 93.86 | $343.00 | $5,190 |
1912 | $34.92 | $515.90 | 6.77 | 95.34 | $366.00 | $5,410 |
1913 | $36.63 | $536.20 | 6.83 | 97.23 | $376.00 | $5,510 |
1914 | $34.31 | $495.40 | 6.93 | 99.11 | $346.00 | $4,990 |
1915 | $36.30 | $512.00 | 7.09 | 100.55 | $361.00 | $5,090 |
1916 | $45.89 | $594.40 | 7.72 | 101.96 | $450.00 | $5,820 |
1917 | $54.85 | $593.30 | 9.24 | 103.27 | $531.00 | $5,740 |
1918 | $69.35 | $638.60 | 10.80 | 103.21 | $671.00 | $6,180 |
1919 | $76.63 | $618.50 | 12.30 | 104.51 | $733.00 | $5,910 |
1920 | $86.76 | $606.60 | 14.30 | 106.46 | $814.00 | $5,690 |
1921 | $72.93 | $585.70 | 12.40 | 108.54 | $671.00 | $5,390 |
1922 | $72.43 | $625.90 | 11.50 | 110.05 | $658.00 | $5,680 |
1923 | $84.91 | $713.00 | 11.90 | 111.95 | $758.00 | $6,360 |
1924 | $87.29 | $732.80 | 11.90 | 114.11 | $764.00 | $6,420 |
1925 | $90.75 | $748.60 | 12.10 | 115.83 | $783.00 | $6,460 |
1926 | $96.77 | $793.90 | 12.10 | 117.4 | $824.00 | $6,760 |
1927 | $95.60 | $798.40 | 11.90 | 119 | $803.00 | $6,700 |
1928 | $96.52 | $812.60 | 11.80 | 120.51 | $800.00 | $6,740 |
1929 | $103.60 | $865.20 | 11.97 | 121.77 | $850.78 | $7,105 |
1930 | $91.20 | $790.70 | 11.53 | 123.08 | $740.98 | $6,424 |
1931 | $76.50 | $739.90 | 10.34 | 124.04 | $616.74 | $5,965 |
1932 | $58.70 | $643.70 | 9.12 | 124.84 | $470.20 | $5,156 |
1933 | $56.40 | $635.50 | 8.87 | 125.58 | $449.12 | $5,060 |
1934 | $66.00 | $704.20 | 9.37 | 126.37 | $522.28 | $5,572 |
1935 | $73.30 | $766.90 | 9.56 | 127.25 | $576.03 | $6,026 |
1936 | $83.80 | $866.60 | 9.67 | 128.05 | $654.43 | $6,767 |
1937 | $91.90 | $911.10 | 10.09 | 128.82 | $713.40 | $7,072 |
1938 | $86.10 | $879.70 | 9.79 | 129.82 | $663.23 | $6,776 |
1939 | $92.20 | $950.70 | 9.70 | 130.88 | $704.46 | $7,263 |
1940 | $101.40 | $1,034 | 9.81 | 132.122 | $767.47 | $7,826 |
1941 | $126.70 | $1,211 | 10.46 | 133.402 | $949.76 | $9,078 |
1942 | $161.90 | $1,435 | 11.28 | 134.86 | $1,200 | $10,643 |
1943 | $198.60 | $1,670 | 11.89 | 136.739 | $1,452 | $12,219 |
1944 | $219.80 | $1,806 | 12.17 | 138.397 | $1,588 | $13,053 |
1945 | $223.10 | $1,786 | 12.49 | 139.928 | $1,594 | $12,765 |
1946 | $222.30 | $1,589 | 13.99 | 141.389 | $1,572 | $11,241 |
1947 | $244.20 | $1,574 | 15.51 | 144.126 | $1,694 | $10,924 |
1948 | $269.20 | $1,643 | 16.38 | 146.631 | $1,835 | $11,206 |
1949 | $267.30 | $1,634 | 16.35 | 149.188 | $1,791 | $10,956 |
1950 | $293.80 | $1,777 | 16.53 | 152.271 | $1,929 | $11,671 |
1951 | $339.30 | $1,915 | 17.72 | 154.878 | $2,190 | $12,364 |
1952 | $358.30 | $1,988 | 18.02 | 157.553 | $2,274 | $12,619 |
1953 | $379.40 | $2,079 | 18.24 | 160.184 | $2,368 | $12,981 |
1954 | $380.40 | $2,065 | 18.42 | 163.026 | $2,333 | $12,669 |
1955 | $414.80 | $2,212 | 18.75 | 165.931 | $2,499 | $13,335 |
1956 | $437.50 | $2,255 | 19.39 | 168.903 | $2,590 | $13,355 |
1957 | $461.10 | $2,301 | 20.04 | 171.984 | $2,681 | $13,379 |
1958 | $467.20 | $2,279 | 20.50 | 174.882 | $2,671 | $13,032 |
1959 | $506.60 | $2,441 | 20.75 | 177.83 | $2,848 | $13,728 |
1960 | $526.40 | $2,501 | 21.04 | 180.671 | $2,913 | $13,847 |
1961 | $544.70 | $2,560 | 21.28 | 183.691 | $2,965 | $13,936 |
1962 | $585.60 | $2,715 | 21.57 | 186.538 | $3,139 | $14,555 |
1963 | $617.70 | $2,834 | 21.80 | 189.242 | $3,264 | $14,975 |
1964 | $663.60 | $2,998 | 22.13 | 191.889 | $3,458 | $15,626 |
1965 | $719.10 | $3,191 | 22.53 | 194.303 | $3,700 | $16,423 |