1807 Slave trade is forbidden. 1817 20,000 people come from Europe. 1819 First United States Passenger Act, marking beginning of systematic immigration statistics. 1842 Annual immigration first reaches 100,000. 1847 Annual immigration passes 200,000. 1845 Large German influx begins as a result of political unrest. 1847 Irish begin to come in large numbers because of famine and political oppression. 1851 Annual immigration passes 300,000. 1853 About 13,000 Chinese laborers arrive to work in the California gold mines. 1855 Castle Garden, New York, established as principal immigrant station. 1860 Slavs and southern Europeans begin to arrive. 1870 More than 15,000 Chinese arrive to work on the railroads. 1880 Because of militarism and overpopulation in Germany, Germans again begin to arrive in large numbers. 1880 Between 1880 and 1900, large numbers of Scandinavians arrive because introduction of machinery takes place of men on Scandinavian farms. 1881 For next 15 years, an average of nearly 500,000 arrive each year. 1882 Idiots, lunatics, and persons likely to become public charges excluded. 1890 For next 30 years, Italians, Austrians, Hungarians, and Slavs pour into United States to supply demand for unskilled labor. 1890 Ellis Island replaces Castle Garden as chief immigrant station. 1891 More than 1,000 Japanese arrive. 1891 The office of Superintendent of Immigration is established in the Treasury Department. 1900 More than 12,000 Japanese arrive. 1900 Between 1900 and 1914, more than 3,000,000 Italians and about 6,000,000 people from Slavic countries enter. 1905 Annual immigration first exceeds 1,000,000. 1907 Immigration reaches all-time peak of 1,285,349. 1907 Immigration Commission is set up. 1917 During World War and afterwards thousands of Mexicans cross the border. 1919 Flow of immigrants from Europe again gets under way. 1921 Temporary Quota Law, restricting immigration. 1924 Permanent Quota Law, restricting immigration to 150,000 annually. 1938 Annual immigration drops to about 70,000. The Development of Our Immigration Policy “_Those who have come to our shores, representing many kindreds and tongues, have been welded by common opportunity into a united patriotism._”—FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT. Long before the Revolutionary War, the colonies enacted restrictive immigration laws. Many of these laws were based on religious prejudices, which, although somewhat softened in intensity, still existed when the new nation was born. Fear and consequent hatred of foreigners and foreign influence were widely prevalent in the early years of the Republic. John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, Patrick Henry, John Jay, and other prominent statesmen opposed the introduction of aliens into the political or economic life of the country. Thomas Jefferson believed that natural expansion of the existing population would be sufficient to meet the country’s needs. Even George Washington, in 1794, said: