This Day in History: May 26

Here’s a brief look back in time for this day, May 26.

In 1924, 30th U.S. President Calvin Coolidge signs into law the Immigration Act of 1924. Following World War I, Americans grew more suspicious of foreign powers potentially plotting to overthrow democracy. Their fears were sourced from the rise of communism, which began to spread across western Europe with the establishment of Vladimir Lenin’s Soviet Union. To remedy this, the U.S. Congress began debating on how to discourage immigrants from entering the country. Their first solution was to introduce a literacy test, but this alone didn’t work. They then introduced quotas, limiting each nationality to 3% of the total citizens in the U.S. It also barred those of Asian descent – specifically Japan – from becoming nationalized: a loophole law that derives from similar ones passed in 1790 and 1870 respectively.

In 1927, the last of Henry Ford’s Model T leaves the production line, discontinuing the classic American vehicle. At this point, over 15 million Model Ts had been sold, solidifying Ford’s hold on the budding automobile marketplace.