Once Welcomed, Then Scapegoated: The Enduring Consequences of Assimilation Policies in the Wake of Mass Migration

Abstract

This paper examines the short- and long-term effects of immigrant assimilation policies in Brazil after the Mass Migration period. It focuses on the Nationalization Campaign, launched amid rising anti-immigrant sentiment during the Great Depression and the World Wars. Using newly assembled archival data spanning the twentieth century, I assess the campaign's impact on education among immigrants and their descendants following the closure of immigrant-community schools. In the short term, the policy sharply reduced educational attainment among targeted groups; in the long term, school-age immigrants during the campaign completed less education over their lifetimes, with adverse effects persisting into the second generation. The magnitude of these impacts varied with cultural proximity to native Brazilians.