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Naturalization Act of 1790
This act restricted citizenship to free white people of "good moral character", a rather arbitrary and naïve definition. This excluded most other ethnic groups apart from select Europeans. -
Period: to
Immigration
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Alien and Sedition Acts
These acts allowed the government to deport immigrants more or less at their own discretion with little reason necessary. It also made voting for immigrants more difficult. We can now start to see the beginnings of the ever present anti-immigration attitude in America. -
Industrial Revolution Brings Europeans
The Industrial Revolution in Europe led to losses in agricultural jobs and a larger population which could not supply enough jobs. Many Europeans looked to the U.S. -
Number of immigrants this year: 23,322
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First organized opposition to immigration
The American Party is established by anti-immigrant activists to speak out against Irish and German immigrants. The group said that these groups were largely Catholic and would obey the pope over the American government. -
Period: to
Potato Famine in Ireland
A disease wipes out many potatoes, a vital crop to the Irish, around 1/8 of Ireland died from starvation or disease. 1 to 2 million Irish came to the U.S. for better lives. -
Gold Rush begins
Gold is discovered in California, creating a large Asian immigrant population coming in for economic opportunities. -
Number of immigrants this year: 369,980
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9.7 percent of America's population is immigrants
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Period: to
East Asian Immigration
200,000 Chinese immigrants enter the U.S., usually for building the transcontinental railroad. By the 1870s, Chinese make up 20 to 30 percent of the Californian work force. -
Civil War ends
After the Civil War, slavery is abolished, shaking up America's economy which had been built on slave labor. There was much more demand for immigrants now that there was demand for cheap working labor. -
14th Amendment
This amendment to The Constitution granted citizenship to any person born in the U.S., including African Americans. This still did not clearly grant citizenship to anyone regardless of race. -
Number of immigrants this year: 387,203
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Chinese Exclusion Act
To pander to the rising hatred for Chinese immigrants, Congress passes this act that prohibits all Chinese workers from entering the U.S. Following laws halted Chinese immigration completely. -
Haymarket Square in Chicago
Explosions and gunfire kill seven police officers and four workers at a rally for a shorter work day. The incident is blamed on anarchists and socialists, leading to a fear that immigrants compromise national security. -
Number of immigrants this year: 455,302
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Victory of Spanish-American War
The victory of the United States results in the gain of Puerto Rico, Guam, former territory of Mexico, and the Philippines. This brings in many immigrants from these territories. -
Mexican population by 1900
by 1900, about 100,000 Mexicans have immigrated to the U.S. -
Ku Klux Klan reaches 3 million members
In the early part of the twentieth century, the KKK grows to 3 million members, matching a growing immigrant population. -
13.6 percent of America's population is immigrants
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Anarchist Exclusion Act
Anarchist Leon Czolgosz kills president William McKinley, creating great fear in the U.S. and leading congress to pass the Anarchist Exclusion act that prohibited anarchist immigration. This is the first time America stops immigration based on political beliefs. -
San Francisco excludes Japanese from school
San Francisco passes a law that Japanese children may not attend schools in the city. -
Gentlemen's Agreement
In response to San Francisco banning Japanese children from school, Japan reaches an agreement with America: there would be no segregation in schools, but Japan would restrict its emigration. -
Immigration Protective League formed
This group is formed to oppose the rising power of hate group and the anti-immigrant sentiment that was gaining prevalence. -
Number of immigrants this year: 1,041,570
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Period: to
World War I
While Europe battles, president Wilson struggles to maintain strict neutrality when it comes to the conflict. But certain events like the sinking of the Lusitania draw America into the conflict. World War One was thought to be "the war to end all wars" and it was fought by the Allies which included America, Britain, France, Russia, and Italy against the Central Powers. The Central Powers included Germany, Austria-Hungary, The Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria -
Anti-German propaganda
Local governments prohibit orchestras from playing German music, some schools refuse to teach German, and sauerkraut is facetiously known as "liberty cabbage". German immigrants are heavily discriminated due to the fact that America openly opposes Germany in World War I. -
Literacy test for immigrants
On the cusp of war, congress makes literacy a requirement for legally immigrating. -
Indian Citizenship Act
Native Americans are finally given the right to citizenship, officially making it that any human born in the U.S., regardless of race, is a citizen -
The Great Depression
In the start of 1929, economics around the world faltered, the stock market crashed, many people were loosing their jobs and homes. The restrictive immigration policy was well supported because people were scared immigrants might take some of the few jobs left. The number of immigrants coming to the U.S. did decrease but that did not stop some from coming in from other countries who also faced similar problems to the U.S. -
Number of immigrants this year: 241,700
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World War 2 and Pearl Harbor
As Nazism was growing, conditions for Jews were extremely bad and kept getting worse. The U.S. admitted 127,000 Jews but this was only a fraction of the Jews who applied to the U.S. The United States got involved in the war once Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Racist beliefs influenced decisions made about the policies made. People thought that people of Japanese decent could not be trusted. The U.S. imprisoned U.S. citizens from Japanese decent and sent them to concentration camps. -
Post World War 2
The War had displaced millions of people around the world. Scholars estimated that the war displaced 60 million Europeans. Governments struggled with responding to the European Jews. Some estimated 60 million displaced people in Europe. The U.S. government and Jewish organizations worked to help provide refuge to Jews. Congress passed the Displaced Persons Act in 1948 allowing 400,000 more Jews into the U.S. The U.S. also took away the Chinese exclusion act because China was a war time ally. -
Cold War
World War 2 got the U.S. out of the Great Depression and it became the worlds most powerful country. The cold war was a "global struggle for political and military domination" (pg. 22) between communist countries and capitalist, democratic countries. It affected immigration because the U.S. passed many bills letting people from the communist countries to come to the U.S. In Cuba, once Fidel Castro took over, massive Cuban immigration began in 1959. Most settled in Florida with few resources. -
Number of immigrants this year: 249,187
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6.9 percent of America's population is immigrants
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Period: to
Vietnam War
The Vietnam war was a war fought mainly between the Viet-Minh from North Vietnam and the South-Vietnamese with the aide of the United States. -
Nationality Act of 1965
This act was brought about by activists who fought for the immigrants coming in from Asia. Congress passed the act that brought in more families and skilled workers. The act also started to bring in more and more Asian immigrants than European immigrants. The act abolished race-based quotas in immigration but also raised the question of national security throughout the country. -
Number of immigrants this year: 373,326
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Refugee Act of 1980
The Refugee Act of 1980 limited the number of refugees allowed into the country annually. The act also allowed for increased admission of immigrants during times of crisis. The act was brought about by the feuding between people that discriminated against immigrants and the refugees and activists who protested against discrimination. -
Immigration Reform and Control Act
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Number of immigrants this year: 1,535,872
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NAFTA Document Signed
The signing of this document was meant to boost Mexico's economy which in turn would reduce the number of illegal immigrants that were coming into the United States -
11.1 percent of America's population is immigrants