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Constitutional Convention
The United States Constitution is drafted, with citizenship defined implicitly. Citizenship is first limited to "free persons" and does not have a formal definition. -
Naturalization Act of 1790
The first naturalization statute is passed, which limits citizenship to "free white persons" who have lived in the United States for at least two years. -
Dred Scott v. Sandford
The Supreme Court judgment denies citizenship to African Americans, both free and enslaved, claiming that they are not regarded citizens under the Constitution. -
14th Amendment
The 14th Amendment is ratified, granting citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States" and guaranteeing equal legal rights -
15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment is ratified, providing citizens the right to vote regardless of race, color, or previous condition of slavery. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
The Chinese Exclusion Act is passed, which prevents Chinese laborers from becoming naturalized citizens. -
19th Amendment
The 19th Amendment is ratified, granting women the right to vote. -
Indian Citizenship Act
The Indian Citizenship Act gives citizenship to all Native Americans born in the United States. -
Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952
The McCarran-Walter Act eliminates racial and ethnic obstacles to immigration and naturalization while retaining nationality-based quotas. -
Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments of 1965
The reforms remove national origin quotas, resulting in increasing immigration from non-European nations. -
Loving v. Virginia
The Supreme Court overturns statutes that prohibited interracial marriage, recognizing the right to marry regardless of color. -
26th Amendment
The 26th Amendment is ratified, which reduces the voting age from 21 to 18. -
Immigration Reform and Control Act
The act grants amnesty to certain undocumented immigrants and imposes sanctions on employers hiring undocumented workers. -
The Child Citizenship Act
Automatic citizenship is granted to foreign-born children adopted by U.S. citizens. -
DACA Decision
The Supreme Court has upheld the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which provides temporary protection to illegal persons brought to the United States as minors. -
Introduced in House U.S. Citizenship Act
This bill creates a road to citizenship for certain unauthorized individuals. In addition, the measure amends immigration statutes to replace the term alien with noncitizen and handles other connected issues. -
The U.S. Citizenship Act of 2023
This proposal, introduced in Congress by President Joe Biden in 2021, restores humanity and American ideals to our immigration system. The Act allows industrious people who contribute to our communities on a daily basis and have lived here for years, if not decades, to become citizens.