Title

Immigration Timeline

By cmw1107

  • 1607

    1607
    About 100 English colonists reached the coast near Chesapeake Bay. They founded Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America.

  • 1619

    1619
    The first arrival of Africans at Jamestown. (Forcefully not willingly) About 20 African Americans.

  • 1620

    1620
    Plymouth Mayflower. Massachusetts.

  • 1786

    1786
    The U.S. establishes first Native American reservation and policy of dealing with each tribe as an independent nation.

  • 1790

    1790
    First United States Naturalization law. Limited naturalization to immigrants who were free white persons of good character. Requires 2 years of residency before applying to become a citizen.

  • 1798

    1798
    The Naturalization Act passed. June 18, 1798. Increased period for immigrants to become citizens from 5 years to 14 years.

  • 1808

    1808
    Foreign Slave Trade Becomes Illegal; 50,000 Slaves Become First "Illegal Aliens" in the US

  • 1845

    1845
    Potato crop fails in Ireland sparking the Potato Famine which kills one million and prompts almost 500,000 to immigrate to America over the next five years.

  • 1849

    1849
    The California Gold Rush sparks first mass immigration from China.

  • 1876

    1876
    California Senate committee investigates the “social, moral, and political effect of Chinese immigration.”

  • 1880

    1880
    Italy’s troubled economy, crop failures, and political climate begin the start of mass immigration with nearly four million Italian immigrants arriving in the United States.

  • 1900

    1900
    Congress establishes a civil government in Puerto Rico and the Jones Act grants U.S. citizenship to island inhabitants. U.S. citizens can travel freely between the mainland and the island without a passport.

  • 1917

    1917
    US enters WWI and anti german sentiment swells at home. Names were changed everywhere to sound less germanic.

  • 1924

    1924
    Immigration act of 1924 establishes fixed quotas of national origin and eliminates far east immigration. President Calvin Coolidge signs a bill granting native americans full citizenship.

  • 1965

    1965
    The Immigration Act of 1965 abolishes quota system in favor of quota systems with 20,000 immigrants per country limits. Preference is given to immediate families of immigrants and skilled workers.