What would America look like (demographically and politically) if....

[DevotedDemocrat]

What America look like, both demographically and politically, if the 1965 Nationality and Immigration Act had never been signed into law and the 1924 Immigration Act was still in effect?

[politicus]

It would have a smaller and much more homogenous population with African-Americans being the largest minority group. Politics would be less racially polarized. Working class whites would be less inclined to vore conservative since they would feel less threatened by competition from immigrants. Generally there would be less right wing paranoia and the economic cleavage would be the most important one.

[rob in cal]

     I believe that even without the law changes we still would have seen a fair amount of immigration from Mexico and Latin America anyway, but certainly not as much as we have seen.  Wasn't the Western Hemisphere exempt from the 1924 qouta laws anyway?

[Antonio the Sixth]

It would have a smaller and much more homogenous population with African-Americans being the largest minority group. Politics would be less racially polarized. Working class whites would be less inclined to vore conservative since they would feel less threatened by competition from immigrants. Generally there would be less right wing paranoia and the economic cleavage would be the most important one.

I highly doubt that. The conservative paranoia machine was built on racism (against blacks, that is) much more than it was ever built on xenophobia (against immigrants). Really, America is the Western country where immigration is less of a big deal.

[windjammer]

Democrats would should carry again Bill Clinton states (West Virginia, Louisiana, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee,...) to win the white house. Alabama, Oklahoma would only be lean republican, colorado and nevada probably lean republican too! However, New Mexico would be a pure toss up and California leaning dem.

[DC Al Fine]

Working class whites vote Democrat. Soccer moms vote GOP.

[angus]

What America look like, both demographically and politically, if the 1965 Nationality and Immigration Act had never been signed into law and the 1924 Immigration Act was still in effect?

This law was aimed at dagos and slavs, and a huge number of those came before 1924.  Also, those who came before and after 1924 have mostly been assimilated.  As I recall, it set no limits on immigration from the Latin American countries.

The big difference would be in immigration from Asian countries.  Walk into any physics or chemistry department nowadays and take a look at the grad students.  You'll quickly conclude that without the 1965 act our science departments would be pretty much empty.  But even without the 1965 act the government would recognize the need for armies of data collectors, and I suspect the result would be a hastening of H and F visas for grad students and post-docs.

[politicus]

It would have a smaller and much more homogeneous population with African-Americans being the largest minority group. Politics would be less racially polarized. Working class whites would be less inclined to more conservative since they would feel less threatened by competition from immigrants. Generally there would be less right wing paranoia and the economic cleavage would be the most important one.

I highly doubt that. The conservative paranoia machine was built on racism (against blacks, that is) much more than it was ever built on xenophobia (against immigrants). Really, America is the Western country where immigration is less of a big deal.

"Its not our country anymore"/"Its not the America I grew up in" is a strong underlying sentiment in the Tea Party and immigration is a big part of this.
But my point was also that Blacks on average would be better of without the competition from immigrants, so the African-American community would be a lot more middle class in outlook and values and therefore also less threatening to Whites (and less frustrated about their own situation).

[Antonio the Sixth]

It would have a smaller and much more homogeneous population with African-Americans being the largest minority group. Politics would be less racially polarized. Working class whites would be less inclined to more conservative since they would feel less threatened by competition from immigrants. Generally there would be less right wing paranoia and the economic cleavage would be the most important one.

I highly doubt that. The conservative paranoia machine was built on racism (against blacks, that is) much more than it was ever built on xenophobia (against immigrants). Really, America is the Western country where immigration is less of a big deal.

"Its not our country anymore"/"Its not the America I grew up in" is a strong underlying sentiment in the Tea Party and immigration is a big part of this.
But my point was also that Blacks on average would be better of without the competition from immigrants, so the African-American community would be a lot more middle class in outlook and values and therefore also less threatening to Whites (and less frustrated about their own situation).

The "it's not the America I grew up in" sentiments reflects much more dismay at social permissiveness and secularization than about immigration, I think. Sure, teabaggers in the Southeast are probably very concerned about immigrants coming to take their jobs away, but they are a tiny bit of the whole chunk.

I see no reason why blacks would significantly benefit from the absence of migrants. Sure, they are competing for the same kind of jobs (nowadays), but so are working-class whites. The problems of African-Americans have little to do with the labor market in itself, they are really mostly rooted in urban segregation at this point.

[angus]

polemicus, your conclusions aren't supported, at least in the real reality.  I think you're reading far too much into both the 1924 act and the 1965 act with respect to the "African-American community."  The "conservative paranoia machine" would exist even without any racism.  Conservative paranoia has always existed, even in homogenous societies. 

The "african-american community" generally refers to the descendants of slaves.  They are unlike every other group of immigrants in this country in the sense that, unlike the Irish, the Chinese, the Mexicans, the Germans, etc., they did not come here for economic mobility, by and large.  True, there are descendants of some Africans here who did--the President of the United States, for one--but they are not from the generic "african-american community" and have a history distinct from them, and from what I have observed on university campus settings, that cohort tends to associate with other foreigners (Indians, Filipinos, etc.)  They don't play the victim, and generally don't try to compete for the jobs that white trailer trash perform.  That's my observation, albeit anecdotal.

In any case, it's a stretch to suggest that middle class "outlook and values" can be bought.  They must be earned, and desired.  If one has neither the desire nor the ability to earn them, then one does not acquire them.  Nothing wrong with that, by the way, as much as we pretend otherwise.