Final answer:
The Gentleman's Agreement of 1907 was a pact between the US and Japan to limit Japanese immigration to the US by having Japan stop its citizens from obtaining visas to immigrate. This agreement was part of a series of US immigration restrictions, including the Emergency Quota Act of 1921 and the National Origins Act of 1924, which aimed to maintain 'American homogeneity' by favoring immigrants from certain countries over others.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Gentleman's Agreement of 1907 was an informal pact between the United States and Japanese officials that aimed to limit immigration from Japan to the US.
This agreement came about amidst rising nativist sentiments in the US, which saw demands for the exclusionary laws that barred Chinese immigration to be extended to Japanese and Korean immigrants. To avoid explicit prohibition, the US agreed not to ban Japanese migration, while Japan agreed to stop issuing visas to Japanese citizens looking to immigrate to the US.
In broader context, the US had a history of restrictive immigration policies focusing on preserving 'American homogeneity.' It put numerical limits on immigration from specific countries, significantly reducing immigration from certain regions while favoring migrants from others. Legislation like the Emergency Quota Act of 1921 and the National Origins Act of 1924 were driven by these attitudes, leading eventually to total exclusion of Japanese immigrants in 1924.