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The First Transcontinental Railroad
The completion of the first transcontinental railroad occurred on May 10, 1869 in Promontory Summit, Utah. The joining of the Central Pacific and Union Pacific lines allowed access to the Western half of the country and made it possible for the shipment of goods from coast to coast. The completion of the railroad would also provide a better means of transportation for settlement to areas of the country that had previously been inaccessible. -
15th Amendment is ratified
In the years following the American Civil War and the inevitable Reconstruction Era, Congress would engage in a series of heated debates. These debates would center around the rights of former black slaves with their regards to civil rights. The 15th Amendment would grant the right to vote to all citizens without regard to race, color, or previous indentured servitude. This piece of legislation along with the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment would be instrumental. -
The Chinese Exclusion Act
The Chinese Exclusion act was signed into legislation by President Chester A. Arthur on May 6, 1882. It was the first exclusionary law to be written and restricted all Chinese immigration for a period of ten years. The law was originally enforced to placate worker demands on the West Coast, where Chinese immigrants were entering the workforce. Many on the West Coast believed that the low wages being given to the Chinese immigrants contributed to a sluggish economy. -
Ellis Island is open for business
Ellis Island officially opened on January 1, 1892 for purposes of being a federal immigration station to those entering the U.S.. Ellis Island is located at the mouth of the Hudson River between New Jersey and New York and would see millions pour into America seeking a better life. Close to 40 percent of Americans are able to trace at least one ancestor passing through Ellis Island. The island would stay open for nearly 5 decades and remains a profound icon in American history. -
The Naturalization Act
The Naturalization Act of 1906 signed into law by President Theodore Roosevelt was an addendum to the original law of 1870. It would require a general knowledge of the English language before naturalization could occur. It would also establish the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization that would become arbiter of such requirements. The Naturalization Act would undergo many changes throughout history the most recent modification includes the Immigration Act of 1990. -
California's Alien Land Law
The California Alien Land Law Act, also known as the Webb-Haney Act prohibited aliens ineligible for citizenship from owning land or possessing long term leasing contracts for agricultural purposes. The idea was to dissuade the immigration of the Asian population but it would also come to affect the Chinese, Japanese, Indian and Korean immigrants already living in the U.S. -
WWI Begins
Through the first century immigration into the United States had been fairly lenient, most legislation had been aimed at parties deemed "undesirable", but for the most part the U.S. had an open door policy. This would change after the beginning of the first world war. Fear of war spreading to America fueled further restrictions and the implementation of passports with the creation of the Immigration Act of 1917 -
The Red Scare
Violence and fear gripped the country as notions of foreign political radicals and immigrants pushing communist propaganda began to arise. The ending of WWI brought turmoil and uncertainty upon the nation and would ultimately lead to the deportation of hundreds of foreign nationals through a series of raids conducted by the Attorney General, A. Mitchell Palmer. This would come to be known as the climax of the Red Scare in the U.S. -
References
Office of the Historian."The Chinese Immigration and t he Chinese Exclusion Acts," On-line;available from history.state.gov/milestones/1866-1898/Chinese immigration;accessed June 19, 2017. History. "Transcontinental Railroad," On-line;available from history.com/topics/inventions/transcontinental-railroad;accessed June 19, 2017. World Heritage Encyclopedia. "Naturalization Act of 1906," On-line,available from worldheritage.org/articles/naturalization_Act_of_1906; accessed June 18 2017
