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The Naturalization Act of 1790
It was law in the United States Congress that granted United States citizenship by naturalization. The law limited naturalization to free white person or persons of "good character". This law was not for native Americans, indentured servants, slaves, free black people, and Asians. -
The start of Immigration
After peace with Great Britain, the Irish began to immigrate to the United States. Five million Germans were already immigrated to the United States and were continuing. -
The Steerage Act of 1819 / Manifest of Immigrants Act
This was an act passed by the United States federal government. It was the first law in the United States regulating the conditions of transportation. It regulated conditions in ships. It also required ship captains to deliver and report a list of passengers with their demographic information to the district collector. The act went into effect on January 1, 1820. -
British Immigrants
In 1840, British immigrants began to come to the United States to find economic success. They were allowed citizenship by the Naturalization Act of 1790. -
The 14th Amendment
The 14th amendment states: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside." This gave former slaves equal rights and protection under the law. -
The Naturalization Act of 1870
The Naturalization Act of 1870 was a United States federal law that was a system of controls for the naturalization process that provided penalties for fraudulent practices. It extended citizenship to African Americans as well as people of other decent. -
Chinese Immigrants
The Chinese immigrants began to arrive in 1870. They were also looking for political and economic freedom. They were not allowed citizenship until 1943. -
Canadian Immigrants
Since there were agricultural problems in Quebec, Canadian immigrants began to come to the United States looking for economic prosperity. -
The Chinese Exclusion Act
The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 denied entry to Chinese immigrants. It also denied a chance for them to obtain citizenship. -
Italian Immigrants
The Italian immigrants began to arrive around 1890. They also wanted political and economic freedom. They received citizenship under the Immigration Act of 1882. -
Russian and Hungarian Immigrants
Russian and Hungarian immigrants began coming to the United States looking for economic and political freedom. -
The Expatriation Act of 1907
The Expatriation Act of 1907 states that if a woman who has United States citizenship marries an immigrant, she will be stripped of her citizenship. -
Mexican Immigrants
Mexican immigrants began coming to the United States in the 1920's looking for better working and living conditions. -
Indian Citizenship Act of 1924
In this act all Native Americans who were born in the United States were automatically given United States citizenship. -
Women's Citizenship Restored in 1940
In 1940, women could marry immigrants without the worry of losing their citizenship. Their citizenship would no longer be forfeited because of marriage. -
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
This Act states the prohibition of discrimination based on race, sex, religion, color, and national origin. It prohibits unequal application of voter registration requirements, racial segregation in schools and public accommodations, and employment discrimination. -
Cuban Immigrants
Cubans immigrated to America for political and economic reasons. They were not allowed to become permanent American citizens until the Cuban Adjustment Act was created in 1966. -
The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986
This law addressed the illegal immigration issues that were happening in the United States. The Immigration Reform and Control Act made it illegal to hire illegal immigrants knowingly and establishing financial and other penalties for companies that employed illegal immigrants. -
Latin American Immigrants
Many Latin Americans immigrated to America for economic freedom and prosperity. Under the Immigration act of 1990, as well as the Citizenship USA program, Latin Americans were offered full American citizenship. -
Immigration Act of 1990
It increased total, overall immigration to allow 700,000 immigrants to come to the U.S. per year for the fiscal years 1992–94, and 675,000 per year after that. It provided family-based immigration visa, created five distinct employment-based visas, categorized by occupation, and a diversity visa program that created a lottery to admit immigrants from "low admittance" countries or countries whose citizenry was underrepresented in the U.S.