United States
(North America)

The United States was severely affected by the Great Depression. This time period was made worse by severe droughts in the country’s Midwest. The government started a mass deportation of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans in the belief it would provide white Americans with more jobs. In 1933, Roosevelt was elected president and created the New Deal program to provide government relief.

Since 1921 quotas based on country of origin and new procedures were implemented to severely curb immigration, especially Jewish immigration. The quotas were tightened over time.

Flyer issued by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee to publicize the plight of Jews refugees
Flyer issued by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee to publicize the plight of Jewish refugees forced to camp in a no-man's-land on the Czech frontier with Germany. These refugees had been expelled from Sudetenland, a region of western Czechoslovakia that was annexed by Nazi Germany. 1938.

Economy

During the Great Depression of the 1930s, around one quarter of all wage-earning workers in the United States were unemployed. For most of the decade, people in the Plains states suffered through the worst drought in American history. The drought caused hundreds of severe dust storms that made it impossible to grow crops. By 1940, 2.5 million people had abandoned their farms during this "Dust Bowl," and headed west to California.

Government Policies

With the crisis, President Herbert Hoover announced a national program of "American jobs for real Americans." The country began mass deportations of Mexicans and Mexican-American citizens. The program passed local laws forbidding government employment of anyone of Mexican descent, even if they were legal permanent residents and U.S. citizens. Big companies like Ford, U.S. Steel, and the Southern Pacific Railroad sided with the government. They said "Mexicans they would be better off with their own people." They laid off thousands of workers.

Immigration

The Emergency Quota Act of 1921 restricted the number of new immigrants to the country. Now, only 3% of the number of nationals from any country already in the U.S. would be admitted. These numbers were based on the 1910 census. Three years later, the Emergency Quota Act of 1924 reduced the percentage to 2% of immigrants already in the U.S. But the numbers were now based on the 1890 census. This changed how people were counted. It excluded the wave of immigrants who arrived after 1890 from being considered in the base numbers. These policies were enacted to curb Jewish immigration to the United States. In addition to the steep cut in quotes, the acts required immigrants to acquire all paperwork and visas prior to leaving for the United States. Before, people entering the country could make decisions upon arrival at Ellis Island, where immigrant applications were processed. By 1929, the laws became even more restrictive. The total yearly quota of possible immigrants was cut from 164,667 to about 150,000. It is important to note that many of these spots were never filled or used because applicants could be rejected if it was thought they would become a "public charge", that is, likely to become primarily dependent on the government for support. By the start of the war in 1939, restrictions continued to get tighter. For example, the State Department increased the number of documents required to ensure a visa. That included the need to find two financial affidavits.