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Germany
Crop failures in Germany cause many to immigrate to the U.S. -
Irish immigration
The Irish potato famine causes many Irish to come to the U.S. -
Mexican-American War
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ends the Mexican-American War and extends citizenship to the approximately 80,000 Mexicans living in Texas, California, and the American Southwest. -
Gold Rush
The California gold rush spurs immigration from China. -
The Homestead Act
The Homestead Act provides free plots of up to 160 acres of western land to settlers who agree to develop and live on it for at least five years, thereby spurring an influx of immigrants from overpopulated countries in Europe seeking land of their own. -
Anti-Coolie Act
The "Anti-Coolie" Act discourages Chinese immigration to California and institutes special taxes on employers who hire Chinese workers. -
The Naturalization Act
The Naturalization Act of 1870 expands citizenship to both whites and African-Americans, though Asians are still excluded. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
The Chinese Exclusion Act restricts all Chinese immigration to the United States for a period of ten years. -
Immigration Act of 1882
The Immigration Act of 1882 levies a tax of 50 cents on all immigrants landing at US ports. -
The Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is dedicated in New York Harbor. -
The Geary Act
The Geary Act extends the Chinese Exclusion Act for ten more years, and adds the requirement that all Chinese residents carry permits, as well as excluding them from serving as witnesses in court and from bail in habeus corpus proceedings. -
Ellis Island
Ellis Island opens in New York City. -
Anarchist Exclusion Act
Congress enacts the Anarchist Exclusion Act, which prohibits the entry into the US of people judged to be anarchists and political extremists. -
The Naturalization Act
The Naturalization Act of 1906 standardizes naturalization procedures, makes some knowledge of the English language a requirement for citizenship, and establishes the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization in the Commerce Department to oversee national immigration policy. -
Literacy requirment
Congress enacts a literacy requirement for immigrants, requiring immigrants to be able to read 40 words. -
WWI
The U.S. enters the first World War. -
Emergency Quota Act
The Emergency Quota Act restricts immigration from a given country to 3% of the number of people from that country living in the US in 1910. -
Border Patrol
The Border Patrol is created to combat smuggling and illegal immigration. -
National Origins Formula
The National Origins Formula institutes a quota that caps national immigration at 150,000 and completely bars Asian immigration, though immigration from the Western Hemisphere is still permitted. -
Alien Registration Act
The Alien Registration Act requires the registration and fingerprinting of all aliens in the United States over the age of 14.
