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Naturalization Act of 1790
Provides the first rules to be followed by the United States in granting citizenship to “free white people.” American History. Limited to white immigrants who had resided in the U.S. at least two years. visitthecapitol -
Period: to
Non-white people barred from citizenship
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Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Formalized the United States' annexation of a major portion of northern Mexico, and conferred
citizenship on Mexicans choosing to remain in the territory. immigration history -
Dred Scott v. Sanford
This Supreme Court ruling established that slaves and free African Americans were not citizens of the U.S. and were not entitled to the rights and privileges of citizenship. immigration history -
Civil Rights Act of 1866
Declared that all persons born or naturalized in the United States were citizens of the United States and the state in which they lived, thereby affirming a rule of citizenship by birth that did not depend on race. (Akhil Reed Amar and John C. Harrison) Constitution Center -
14th amendment ratified
"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” Directed at the specific evils of both the Dred Scott decision and the Black Codes (Akhil Reed Amar)Constitution Center -
Naturalization Act of 1870
Extended naturalization rights already enjoyed by white immigrants to “aliens of African nativity and to persons of African descent."immigration history It denied these rights to other non-white groups, it was aimed at excluding Asians. -
United States v. Wong Kim Ark
U.S. Supreme Court rules in United States v. Wong Kim Ark that any child born in the United States, regardless of race or parents’ citizenship status, is an American citizen. American History -
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Indian Citizenship Act
Extends U.S. citizenship to all Native Americans. American History. Native Americans were the last main group to gain this right set forth in the Fourteenth Amendment. Immigration History
