Dillingham Commission (1907-1910)
Immigration to the US Resources
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| Title page of Statistical Review of Immigration, 1820-1910, Distribution of Immigrants, 1850-1900, presented by Mr. Dillingham, 1911. |
The United States Immigration Commission, known as the "Dillingham Commission," was formed in response to growing political concern about immigration in the United States. Under the leadership of Vermont Senator William Paul Dillingham, the joint House-Senate commission included US Senators Henry Cabot Lodge and Asbury Latimer; US Representatives Benjamin Howell, William Bennett, and John Burnet; as well as Charles Neill of the US Department of Labor, Jeremiah Jenks of Cornell University, and William Wheeler, the California Commissioner of Immigration.
The Dillingham Commission, which began its work in 1907, had concluded by 1911 that immigration from southern and eastern Europe posed a serious threat to American society and culture and should therefore be greatly reduced. The commission's overall findings provided the rationale for the politically and economically inspired immigration restriction acts of the 1920s, including the Emergency Quota Act of 1921, which favored immigration from northern and western Europe by restricting the annual number of immigrants from any given country to 3 percent of the total number of people from that country living in the United States in 1910. The movement for immigration restriction that the Dillingham Commission helped to stimulate culminated in the National Origins Formula of 1929, which capped national immigration at 150,000 annually and barred Asian immigration altogether.
^ TOPImmigration to the US Resources
Listed below are digital resources from the Immigration to the US collection by, about, or related to the Dillingham Commission. These resources represent only a selection of what exists on these topics. More physical materials on these topics may be available at the owning repositories, some of which are open to the public.
Dillingham Commission Reports
In 1911, the Dillingham Commission issued a 41-volume report containing statistical overviews and other analyses of topics related to immigrant occupations, living conditions, education, legislation (at the state as well as the federal level), and social and cultural organizations.Reports of the Immigration Commission. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1911.
Volumes 1-2.
Abstracts of Reports of The Immigration Commission, with Conclusions and Recommendations and Views of the Minority.
Volume 3.
Frederick Croxton. Statistical Review of Immigration, 1820-1910. Distribution of Immigrants, 1850-1900.
Volume 4.
Emigration Conditions in Europe.
Volume 5.
Daniel Folkmar, assisted by Elnora Folkmar. Dictionary of Races or People.
Volumes 6-7.
W. Jett Lauck. Bituminous Coal Mining.
Volumes 8-9.
W. Jett Lauck. Iron and Steel Manufacturing.
Volume 10.
W. Jett Lauck. Cotton Goods Manufacturing in the North Atlantic States; Woolen and Worsted Goods Manufacturing.
Volume 12.
W. Jett Lauck. Leather Manufacturing; Boot and Shoe Manufacturing; Glove Manufacturing.
Volume 13.
W. Jett Lauck. Slaughtering and Meat Packing.
Volume 14.
W. Jett Lauck. Glass Manufacturing; Agricultural Implement and Vehicle Manufacturing.
Volume 15.
W. Jett Lauck. Cigar and Tobacco Manufacturing; Furniture Manufacturing; Sugar Refining.
Volume 16.
W. Jett Lauck. Copper Mining and Smelting; Iron Ore Mining; Anthracite Coal Mining; Oil Refining.
Volumes 17-18.
W. Jett Lauck. Diversified Industries.Washington: G.P.O., 1911.
Volumes 19-20.
W. Jett Lauck. Summary Report on Immigrants in Manufacturing and Mining.
Volumes 21-22.
Alexander Cance. Recent Immigrants in Agriculture.
Volumes 23-25.
Harry A. Mills. Japanese and Other Immigrant Races in the Pacific Coast and Rocky Mountain States.
Volumes 26-27.
Emanuel A. Goldenweiser. http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL:836386Immigrants in Cities: A Study of the Population of Selected Districts in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Cleveland, Buffalo, and Milwaukee.
Volume 28.
Joseph Hill. Occupations of the First and Second Generations of Immigrants in the United States; Fecundity of Immigrant Women.
Volumes 29-33.
The Children of Immigrants in Schools.
Volumes 34-35.
Immigrants as Charity Seekers.
Volume 36.
Leslie Hayford. Immigration and Crime.
Volume 37.
Steerage Conditions, Importation and Harboring of Women for Immoral Purposes, Immigrant Homes and Aid Societies, Immigrant Banks.
Volume 38.
Changes in Bodily Form of Descendants of Immigrants: (Final Report).
Volume 39.
Immigration Legislation.
Volume 40.
The Immigration Situation in other Countries: Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Brazil.