Immigration myths

Immigration Timeline

By dnn0131

  • 1607

    1607
    English colonists land May 24 at Jamestown, Virginia, under the patent of the London Company.

  • 1619

    1619
    At Jamestown, 20 blacks were landed to be sold as indentured servants.

  • 1620

    1620
    The Mayflower anchors off Plymouth on December 21, and the colonists from England begin to disembark.

  • 1786

    1786
    The U.S. establishes first Native American reservation and policy of dealing with each tribe as an independent nation.

  • 1790

    1790
    The federal government requires two years of residency for naturalization.

  • 1798

    1798
    The Naturalization Act, passed by the United States Congress on June 18, 1798 , increased the period necessary for immigrants to become naturalized citizens in the United States from 5 to 14 years.

  • 1880

    1880
    Italy’s troubled economy, crop failures, and political climate begin the start of mass immigration with nearly four million Italian immigrants arriving in the United States.

  • 1808

    1808
    Congress bans importation of slaves.

  • 1845

    1845
    Potato crop fails in Ireland sparking the Potato Famine which kills one million and prompts almost 500,000 to immigrate to America over the next five years.

  • 1849

    1849
    The California Gold Rush sparks first mass immigration from China.

  • 1876

    1876
    California Senate committee investigates the “social, moral, and political effect of Chinese immigration.”

  • 1900

    1900
    Congress establishes a civil government in Puerto Rico and the Jones Act grants U.S. citizenship to island inhabitants. U.S. citizens can travel freely between the mainland and the island without a passport.

  • 1917

    1917
    The U.S. enters World War I and anti-German sentiment swells at home. The names of schools, foods, streets, towns, and even some families, are changed to sound less Germanic.

  • 1924

    1924
    Immigration Act of 1924 establishes fixed quotas of national origin and eliminates Far East immigration. President Calvin Coolidge signs a bill granting Native Americans full citizenship.

  • 1965

    1965
    The Immigration Act of 1965 abolishes quota system in favor of quota systems with 20,000 immigrants per country limits. Preference is given to immediate families of immigrants and skilled workers (Chinese).“Freedom flight” airlifts begin for Cuban refugees assisting more than 260,000 people over the next eight years (Cuban & Puerto Rican).The Bracero Program ends after temporarily employing almost 4.5 million Mexican nationals. (Mexican)