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Immigrants from England
Some 100 men and boys sailing from England landed in present-day Virginia and founded Jamestown. -
Massachusetts Requires Permission to Host Illegal Immigrants
General Court of Massachusetts ordered that no town or person in the colony should receive or host any alien without permission from the authorities. -
Germans Required to Provide Signature
The Provincial Council approved an oath that all male Germans over the age of 16 years of age were required to sign when they arrived in America. -
Royal Proclamation of 1763
King George III issued a proclamation that forbade colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains. In so doing, he hoped to placate Native Americans who had sided against him during the recently concluded Seven Years’ War. -
Naturalization Act of 1790
This article of legislation allowed an individual to apply for citizenship if they were a free white person, being of good character, and living in the United States for two years. -
Naturalization Act of 1798
This required applicants for citizenship to have declared intention to becoming a citizen five years prior to applicatoin, and lived in the United States 14 years when the application was admitted. -
Congress abolishes the African slave trade
The U.S. Congress passes an act to "prohibit the importation of slaves into any port or place within the jurisdiction of the United States...from any foreign kingdom, place, or country." -
The Trail of Tears
forcefully removed from their homelands in Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee to live in Indian Territory, now Oklahoma. They traveled by foot, horse, wagon, or steamboat in 1838-1839. -
Homestead Act
The Homestead Act, enacted during the Civil War in 1862, provided that any adult citizen, or intended citizen, who had never borne arms against the U.S. government could claim 160 acres of surveyed government land. -
Page Act of 1875
The Senate and House Representations of the United States of America in Congress approved a law stating that any immigration of Chinese, Japanese, or any Asian country, to the United States must be free and voluntary. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
This act provided an absolute 10-year moratorium on Chinese labor immigration. -
Immigration Act of 1882
Congress passed a new Immigration Act that stated a 50 cents tax would be levied on all aliens landing at United States ports. -
Contract Labor Law
An act to prohibit the importation and migration of foreigners and aliens under contract or agreement to perform labor in the United States, its territories, and the District of Columbia -
Immigration Act of 1924
This limited the annual number of immigrants who could be admitted from any country to 2% of the number of people from that country who were already living in the United States in 1890, down from the 3% cap set by the Immigration Restriction Act of 1921, according to the Census of 1890. -
Magnuson Act
An act to repeal the Chinese Exclusion Act, to establish quotas, and for other purposes. -
Arizona SB 1070
Requires police to determine the immigration status of someone arrested or detained when there is “reasonable suspicion” they are not in the U.S. legally.
