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Founding of Jamestown
The Virginia Company landed on the Island of Jamestown and established the colony of Virginia. -
The first Africans were brought to Jamestown.
It is unclear if Africans were considered slaves or indentured servants, but there is evidence that by 1640 there were Africans who were serving as slaves. -
Quakers become Illegal Aliens
Despite the country's history of being a place that valued religious freedom, Quakers began to be persecuted and were declared illegal aliens in every colony except for Rhode Island. -
Articles of Confederation leave citizenship decisions to the states
Under sectioin IV of the Articles of Confederation, naturalization and citizenship issues are left for the states to decide. -
1790 Naturalization Act
This was the first federal law concerning naturalization and citizenship. it requires applicants to reside in the US for two years and file a petition. Women were included in the Act, but slaves, Chinese people, and anyone whose father never lived in the US was not eligible for citizenship. -
The Ursuline convent burned
Millions of Irish immigrants were arriving in the US and bringing Catholicism with them. Protestants became fearful that Catholicism would be forced upon them like it had been in other countries. These fears led to riots like the one seen at this convent in Charleston, Massachusetts. -
Treaty of Gualalupe-Hildago
The Mexican-American War ended with the signing of this treaty. The treaty transferred over 500,000 square miles of territory from Mexico to American possession. -
Centralized Control Over Immigration
The president appointed a Commissioner of Immigration who would serve under the Secretary of State. -
Naturalization Act of 1870
People of African ancestry became eligible for naturalization, but other people of color such as Asians were still not included. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
For the first time, the US outlawed the immigration of a specific nationality, with the only exceptions being those Chinese that got documentation from their government stating that they were not either “skilled or unskilled laborers.” -
Ellis Island Opens
Opened as a federal immigration station, Ellis Island was where millions of new immigrants arrived in the US to be processed. -
Watchmen Placed at Border
The US Immigration Service posted representatives along the US-Mexico border to try to keep illegal immigration to a minimum. However, their primary source of concern was not to catch Mexicans illegally crossing the border, but Chinese who were trying to avoid the Chinese Exclusion laws. These representaatives never exceded 75 in number, and were only on duty when there was a surplus of money that could be paid to them. -
Mexican Revolution
• Due to revolution and political unrest in Mexico, huge numbers of Mexicans immigrated to Texas and other parts of the southwestern US. -
Border Patrol Established
The Labor Appropriation Act of 1924 established the official US Border Patrol. Their purpose was to secure the borders between inspection stations. There were around 450 border patrol agents. -
Executive Order 9066
This order gave the military the power to ban people of Japanese ancestry from certain places in the country, and to relocate them to centers that were governed by the military. This order also affected those of Italian and German decent, but not to the degree that the Japanese were affected. -
Chinese Allowed Citizenship
The Magnuson Immigration Act of 1943 allowed immigrants from China to legally enter the US and become citizens. -
Executive Order 9066 Rescinded
The order that had limited Japanese citizen's mobility during WWII was rescinded and called a mistake. -
1980 Refugee Act
This act allows persecuted peoples to seek asylum within the US.
