Dillingham Commission | |
 Members of the Dillingham Commission | |
| Named after | William P. Dillingham |
|---|---|
| Formation | February 1907 |
| Founder | United States Congress, President Theodore Roosevelt |
| Dissolved | 1911 |
| Type | Special committee |
| Purpose | To study the origins and consequences of recent immigration to the United States |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
| Location | |
| Fields | Immigration policy, social research |
Chairman | William P. Dillingham |
Main organ | Joint committee of House and Senate |
Budget | Over $1,000,000 |
| Staff | Over 300 |
The United States Immigration Commission (also known as the Dillingham Commission after its chairman, Republican Senator William P. Dillingham, was a bipartisan special committee formed in February 1907 by the United States Congress and President Theodore Roosevelt, to study the origins and consequences of recent immigration to the United States.[1] This was in response to increasing political concerns about the effects of immigration and its brief was to report on the social, economic, and moral state of the nation. During its time in action, the Commission employed a staff of more than 300 people for over 3 years, spent better than a million dollars, and accumulated mass data.[2]
It was a joint committee composed of members of both the House and Senate. The Commission published its findings in 1911, concluding that immigration from Eastern Europe and Southern Europe was a serious threat to American society and culture and should be greatly reduced in the future, as well as continued restrictions on immigration from China, Japan, and Korea.[citation needed] The report highly influenced public opinion around the introduction of legislation to limit immigration and can be seen to have played an integral part in the adoption of the Emergency Quota Act in 1921 and the Johnson–Reed Act in 1924.[3]
- ^ Dillingham, W. P., 'Immigrants in Industries (in Twenty-Five Parts)', Reports of the Immigration Commission, Senate Document no. 633, 61st Congress, 2nd Session, 25 (Government Printing Office, 1911), p. 2.
- ^ Pula, James (1980). "American Immigration Policy and the Dillingham Commission". Polish American Studies. 37 (1): 5–32.
- ^ Bernard, William (1950). American Immigration Policy: A Reappraisal. New York: Harper & Bros. p. 13.