During debate on the Senate floor, Senator Ted Kennedy, speaking of the effects of the act, said, "...our cities will not be flooded with a million immigrants annually.... Secondly, the ethnic mix of this country will not be upset...." The act's supporters not only claimed the law would not change America's ethnic makeup, but that such a change was not desirable. However, in the end, this act dramatically changed the face of American society by making it a multicultural, multi-ethnic nation. Prior to the act, the United States was overwhelmingly composed of whites of European descent (89% in 1965), with the only minority group of significant size being blacks (10%). Since the implementation of the law, the relative proportion of the white population has been in steady decline, with whites projected to lose their majority status during the 21st century.
2007-05-13
03:46:22
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Immigration