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Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence is written to protest England's limiting naturalization of foreigners in the colonies. -
Native American
The United States established the 1st Native American reservation & policy of dealing with each tribe as an independent nation -
Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights outlined the civil rights and liberties of Americans. -
U.S. Constitution
Under Article I, the Constitution give Congress the power to establish a uniform Rule of Naturalization, eventually giving the federal government sole authority over immigration. -
Naturalization Act of 1790
The Naturalization Act provided the 1st rules to be followed by the United States when granting national citizenship to "free white people." The federal government also required two years of residency for naturalization. -
Compromise of 1820
The Compromise of 1820 admitted Maine as a free state and Missouri as a slave state and stated any territories north of Missouri would prohibit slavery. -
Removal Act & Trail of Tears
Congress passes the Removal Act, which forces Native Americans to settle in Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River. Then, in 1838 the Cherokee Indians were forced on over a thousand-mile march to the Indian Territory, where many died on what is now called the "Trail of Tears." -
Potato Famine
In Ireland, the failing potato crops caused the Potato Famine, which killed over one million people and prompted over 500 thousand Irish Immigrants to America over the next five years. -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed after the Mexican-American War's end. The treaty extended citizenship to all inhabitants living in territories the US annexed following the war. The United States acquires new territories and people under its jurisdiction. -
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush prompts the 1st mass immigration from China -
Supreme Court's Dred Scott
The decision in Supreme Court's Dred Scott case declared that black people were not U.S. citizens and also ruled that the Missouri Compromise of 1820 was unconstitutional. -
Poland & Russia
Poland's Poland's religious and economic conditions prompt the immigration of about two million Polish people by 1914. -
Homestead Act of 1862
The Homestead Act allowed for any individual over 21 or head of the household, regardless of their gender, ethnicity, or country of origin, to claim up to 160 acres of free land if they had lived on it for over five years and made agricultural improvements. -
Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation abolished slavery and permitted African-American men to join the Union Army during the Civil War. -
Fourteenth Amendment
The 14th Amendment to the Constitution granted all people born or naturalized in the United States are citizens and are guaranteed “equal protection of the laws.” This meant that African Americans were given citizenship; however, a clause in the amendment "excluding Indians not taxed" prevented Native-American men from receiving the right to vote. -
Fifteenth Amendment
The 15th Amendment to the Constitution gave African-American males the right to vote. -
Naturalization Act of 1870
The Naturalization Act of 1870 extended naturalization rights to formerly enslaved Africans not born in the U.S.; however, Asian immigrants remained excluded from citizenship. -
Italy
The troubled economy, crop failures, and political climate in Italy prompted the beginning of mass immigration of nearly four million Italian immigrants to the United States -
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was the first U.S. law to ban immigration based on race or nationality and it suspended the immigration of Chinese laborers under penalty of imprisonment and deportation. -
Plessy vs Ferguson
The Supreme Court ruled in Plessy v. Ferguson that "separate but equal" accommodations for African Americans and whites are Constitutional, which allows for legalized segregation. -
California Alien Land Law
California's Alien Land Law ruled that foreigners or immigrants "ineligible to citizenship" were not eligible to own agricultural property. -
Jones-Shafroth Act
The Jones-Shafroth Act granted U.S. citizenship to residents of Puerto Rico. The Act also allowed U.S. citizens to travel freely between the mainland and the island without a passport. -
Emergency Quota Act
The first quota law was passed, which limits the annual number of immigrants based on country of origin. Known as the Emergency Quota Act, it was initially supposed to be temporary but had a more significant impact on U.S. immigration. It added two new features to American immigration law: numerical limits on immigration and a quota system for establishing those limits, which came to be known as the National Origins Formula. -
Ozawa v. United States
The Supreme Court ruled in the Ozawa v. United States case that first-generation Japanese people are ineligible for citizenship and cannot apply for naturalization. -
Immigration Act of 1924
The Immigration Act of 1924 established fixed national origin quotas and eliminated immigration from the far east. Then, in 1929, Congress required that annual immigration quotas be required. -
Indian Citizenship Act
The Indian Citizenship Act, signed by President Calvin Coolidge, extended U.S. citizenship to all Native Americans in 1924. -
Alien Registration Act
The Alien Registration Act requires all non-citizen adults to register with the government and empowers the president to deport foreigners suspected of espionage or being a security risk. -
Magnuson Act of 1943
The Magnuson Act of 1943 repealed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and established quotas for Chinese immigrants, making them eligible for U.S. citizenship. -
War Bride and G.I. Fiancée Act
The War Bride Act was passed and allowed non-quota immigration by military spouses and fiancés. The G.I. Fiancee Act was then added as an extension of the War Bride Act, and both allowed for the immigration of foreign-born wives, fiancees, husbands, and children of U.S. armed forces personnel. -
Immigration and Nationality Act
The Immigration and Nationality Act eliminates race as a bar to immigration or citizenship. In addition, it allows individuals of all races to be eligible for naturalization. The act also reaffirms the national origins quota system, limits immigration from the Eastern Hemisphere while leaving the Western Hemisphere unrestricted, and establishes preferences for skilled workers and relatives of U.S. citizens and permanent residents. -
Hart-Celler Act
The Hart-Celler Act abolished the national origins quota system, replacing it with a preference system focused on immigrants' skills and family relationships with citizens or U.S. residents. It also favored a quota system with a limit of 20,000 immigrants per country, and preference was given to immediate families of immigrants and skilled workers. -
Cuban Refugee Act
The Cuban Refugee Act permitted more than 400,000 Cuban and Puerto Rican people to enter the United States. -
Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986
The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 granted amnesty to millions of individuals living in the United States who entered the country before January 1, 1982. -
Civil Liberties Act
The Civil Liberties Act provided compensation of $20,000 and a presidential apology to all of the Japanese-American survivors of the World War II internment camps. -
Patriot Act
The U.S. Patriot Act amended the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1985 to broaden the scope of immigrants ineligible for admission or deportation, including terrorist activities.