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Jamestown
The first English settlement in the North American continent. This settlement housed the first Enlgish-born immigrants and was the source of some of the first immigrant related conflicts. -
Slavery
The first slaves, while not ofically slaves, arrived in the colonies in 1619. Many Africans were brought as indentured servants to aid on farms and plantations. The first legally recognized slave was John Castor, earning the title after a landmark case in 1654 that declared him the property of another man. -
Alien and Sedition Acts
A series of 4 bills enacted that served only to make it more difficult to achieve a nationalized status in this new fledgling nation. -
Manifest Destiny
Although not officially coined "Manifest Destiny" until 1845, the concept of the American right to own the land spanning from the Pacific to the Atlantic begins at this time. A people who were once immigrants started to claim ownership of a land not truly theirs. -
The Great Potato Famine
The Great Potato Famine of Ireland spurred a massive influx of needy immigrants to the nation of America. This swift and large increase of a foreign element caused a lot of tension and led to the development of new types of discrimination. -
Mexican American War
While the agressions towards the Native Americans definitely counts as the usurping of a people from their native lands, the Mexican American War serves are a shining example. In an effort to increase our territory size we initiated a war with the owners of hte southern regions of the continent allowing us to acquire the would be states of Colorado, Nevada, Texas, New Mexico, California, and Utah. -
Jim Crow Laws
Even with the abolishment of slavery, discrimination persisted. in order to maintain the flawed racial hierarchy system, the government enacted the Jim Crow laws to hold people of different colors down. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
A landmark piece of legislation in the United States that outlawed major forms of discrimination against African Americans and women, including racial segregation. -
Immigration and Nationality Act
This act replaced the previous quote system that severely retricted the number of immigrants allowed into the nation on a system based on "value quotas" that put European immigrants on a tier higher than others. It also started the application of workers visas. -
Federal Hate Crimes Law
In order to combat the prevalence of racially based violence the federal government enacted this law to improve the punishments earned by people who perpatrate these crimes. -
Lau v. Nichols
This was a landmark court case that found that students who speak languages other than English were being cheated out of a fair and equl education. This started the ball rolling for the implementation of Bilingual Education in school systems. -
The Twin Towers Fall
A terrorist attack lead to the loss of many lives on 9/11/2001. The result of this attack lead to a widespread xenophobia of people of Middle Eastern descent. -
Mexico-US Barrier
US-Mexico Border WikiIn 2006, George W. Bush signed the Secure Fence Act to build 700 miles of physical barriers across the US-Mexican border. This was largely to protect against illegal immigration, drug trafficking, and security threats. -
SB 1070
SB 1070 WikiA monumental bill that many view as a slap in the face of civil liberties that requires all legal immigrants to have their documentation with them at all times. Failure to comply or living in AZ without them could result in the swift deportation. This bill allows for racil profiling to run rampant as police officers are allowed to check for paperwork at any time, regardless of the circumstances. -
DREAM Act
DREAM Act WikiA proposed bill that would provide conditional permanent residency to illegal immigrants that maintain good moral character and grauduate from US high schools. It is currently only active in the state of California.
