Originally Posted by
de Burgh II
Its because prior to the 1960's; immigration was strongly in favor for just Northwestern, Northern and Central European immigration. The U.S. wanted to limit ancestries that deviated from the Anglo-NW Euro look as being staunchly "American." Racial mixing was taboo in order to preserve their "whiteness." It wasn't until the civil rights movement of the 1960's onwards that changed the American mindset to be more multicultural and liberal in nature. Hence, we are more multicultural now compared to more mainstream, pre-1960's conservative United States.