Influence of American immigration legislation on Jewish Diaspora formation in USA (middle 17 century - 1914)

There are several periods in the history of American immigration. According to a researcher S.V. Filippov, 4 periods are distinguished. First period (up to 1781). This period covers unrestricted populating of the country that was taking place until the establishment of the USA as a new independent state. Second period (1781-1830). During this period immigration was not regulated or constrained by the state in any way. Third period (1830-1875). During this period the entry of new migrants was regulated by the local state legislation. Fourth period (1875 - present). During this period immigration is thoroughly controlled by the federal government. The Jewish ethnic community in the USA comprised three large immigrant groups: 1) Hispano-Portugal (from the middle of the 17th century to the first quarter of the 19th century); 2) German (from the 1820s to 1880s); 3) Eastern European (from 1881). Overall, from the legislation point of view, one could characterize the researched period (middle of the 17 th century - 1914) as a favourable period for Jewish immigrants. The main differences between the waves of immigration were the scale and the conditions of immigration to the USA. As far as the first, less numerous His-pano-Portugal group of immigrants is concerned, the researchers do not possess abundant information pertaining to the conditions of immigration. In case of the German group of migrants, on the other hand, researchers are able to source the information from the Castle Garden Immigration Station in New-York, which used to process the immigrants in 1820-1890. Castle Garden used to function as a charity organisation, providing shelter and a warm welcome to those newly arrived. It also provided the immigrants with practical advice on the social services available for the newly arrived. At the end of the 19th century, about three quarters of all immigrants arrived in the USA via the New-York Port. A new federal station Ellis Island was built in 1892 for processing of the immigrants. This station had a new policy of filtering out those with infectious deceases, unprivileged or disabled, as well as labourers on a contract. The Ellis Island Station became a place of rejection for many Jewish families and was witness to many heartbreaking stories. Nativism on the part of the well-established American residents could be pointed out as a prominent feature of the Jewish immigration of the time. It grew particularly strong at the end of the 19th century and forced the Federal Government to introduce a restrictive policy. On top of that, each wave of Jewish immigration stumbled upon a negative attitude of the previous, well settled and americanised wave of Jewish immigration. These attitudes of the older Jewish immigrants correlated with the general attitudes of the American public and initially caused unfriendliness and even hostility among the Jewish community. However, as the new-comers adapted to the American way of life, these negative attitudes became less and less noticeable. Immigrants became assimilated and adapted to the economic, cultural and linguistic aspects of their new life. While developing their ethnic cohesion as American Jewish, they continued the traditions of their former homeland, at the same time connecting to their new ethnic identity as Americans.

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