Editing Immigration Wave 1870-1920 (section)

== Nativism and Assimilation ==

The massive immigration wave provoked nativist backlash from Americans who feared that foreign newcomers would change the country's character. The [[Nativist Riots of 1844]] had targeted Irish Catholics; by the late 19th century, new immigrants from southern and eastern Europe faced similar prejudice. Nativists argued that these newcomers were racially inferior, culturally alien, and threatening to American institutions. The American Protective Association and other organizations campaigned against immigration and against the political participation of immigrants. These attitudes eventually triumphed with the Immigration Acts of 1921 and 1924, which established quotas that dramatically reduced immigration from southern and eastern Europe.<ref name="bodnar"/>

Meanwhile, immigrants and their children were becoming Americans. The second generation—born in America, educated in American schools, fluent in English—often distanced themselves from their parents' "old country" ways while retaining elements of ethnic identity. Intermarriage across ethnic lines increased over generations, though religious differences often remained barriers. The process of assimilation was gradual and uneven, varying by ethnic group and by individual circumstance. By the mid-20th century, the children and grandchildren of the great immigration wave had become simply "Americans"—though ethnic identity persisted in neighborhood allegiances, food preferences, religious practices, and family memories.<ref name="golab"/>