fore they have become citizens
and even before they are able to use the native language.

3. Immigration and Americanization

The presence of large groups of foreign-born in the United States was
first conceived of as a problem of immigration. From the period of the
large Irish immigration to this country in the decades following 1820
each new immigrant group called forth a popular literature of protest
against the evils its presence threatened. After 1890 the increasing
volume of immigration and the change in the source of the immigrants
from northwestern Europe to southeastern Europe intensified the general
concern. In 1907 the Congress of the United States created the
Immigration Commission to make "full inquiry, examination, and
investigation into the subject of immigration." The plan and scope of
the work as outlined by the Commission "included a study of the sources
of recent immigration in Europe, the general character of incoming
immigrants, the methods employed here and abroad to prevent the
immigration of persons classed as undesirable in the United States
immigration law, and finally a thorough investigation into the general
status of the more recent immigrants as residents of the United States,
and the effect of such immigration upon the institutions, industries,
and people of this country." In 1910 the Commission made a report of its
investigations and findings together with its conclusions and
recommendations which were published in forty-one volumes.

The European War focused the attention of the country upon the problem
of Americanization. The public mind became conscious of the fact that
"the stranger within our gates," whether naturalized or unnaturalized,
tended to maintain his loyalty to the land of his origin, even when it
seemed to conflict with loyalty to the country of his sojourn or his
adoption. A large number of superficial investigations called "surveys"
were made of immigrant colonies in the larger cities of the country.
Americanization work of many varieties developed apace. A vast
literature sprang up to meet the public demand for information and
instruction on this topic. In view of this situation the Carnegie
Corporation of New York City undertook in 1918 a "Study of the Methods
of Americanization or Fusion of Native and Foreign Born." The point of
view from which the study was made may be inferred from the following
statement by its director, Allen T. Burns:

Americanization