4 ms·
A nation that does not control its borders is no longer a nation. No country on earth behaves that way. Not now, nor in the past. The world was different, of c
by jrmg 3y ago
A nation that does not control its borders is no longer a nation. No country on earth behaves that way. Not now, nor in the past.
The world was different, of course, but the USA basically (and I thought rather famously) behaved this way until around the Civil War period, and it remained relatively open until about the First World War.
From the horse’s mouth:
https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/our-history/explore-agency-history/overview-of-agency-history https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/our-history/explore-agency-hi...
And specifically:
https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/our-history/overview-of-ins-history/early-american-immigration-policies https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/our-history/overview-of-ins-h...
https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/our-history/mass-immigration-and-wwi https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/our-history/mass-immigration-...
https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/our-history/overview-of-agency-history/era-of-restriction https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/our-history/overview-of-agenc...
- slashdev 3y agoYou’re right, that’s an important exception. To be fair that’s a decent policy in an era before taxes and social programs, and when you’re presiding over a vast, largely empty new territory. I would make the case that the cost of a one way sea ticket to the US in those days was something of a restriction. But still very unrestricted compared to today.