Final answer:
Nativists sought to limit immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe by lobbying for literacy tests and implementing the National Origins Act of 1924. This act restricted immigration through quotas based on the 1890 census composition. These efforts stemmed from economic concerns, religious prejudice, and a belief that certain immigrants would not assimilate.
Step-by-step explanation:
Many nativists in the United States hoped to reduce immigration by individuals they deemed "undesirable," which generally meant non-Protestants, Jews, and immigrants from Central and Southern Europe. They pushed for various measures to limit this immigration, including lobbying for literacy tests and immigration quotas based on national origins.
After nativists pushed for these restrictions, the U.S. government enacted several pieces of legislation designed to curb immigration. One significant law was the Immigration Act of 1924, also known as the National Origins Act. This law set quotas that were preferentially based on the U.S. population's composition according to the 1890 census, effectively discriminating against immigrants from regions that had higher immigration rates after that year.
The desire to keep out these immigrants was driven by a combination of economic fears, religious bias, and a belief that these new arrivals would not assimilate into American culture. Ironically, nativists often harbored prejudice against Native Americans, despite the fact that these Indigenous peoples were the original inhabitants of the U.S. territories.