The National Origins Act was a U.S. law passed in 1924 that aimed to limit immigration from certain countries. It established a quota system that favored immigrants from Northern and Western Europe while severely restricting those from Southern and Eastern Europe, as well as Asia. This legislation reflected the nativist sentiments of the time and sought to maintain the existing demographic makeup of the United States. The Act was part of a broader trend in the 1920s to control immigration, which included the earlier Emergency Quota Act of 1921. The National Origins Act remained in effect until it was repealed in 1965, significantly shaping the country's immigration policies and demographics for decades.