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Nationality Act of 1790
National citizenship was granted, but only to free white people. -
Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798
Congress enacted deportation laws targeting people who where considered political threats to the United States. -
1808 Transatlantic Slave Trade Act
This Act prohibited the importation of slaves within the jurisdiction of the United States -
Indian Removal Act
Authorized the confiscation of land from the Native Americans forcing them west of the Mississippi. -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Ended the war between Mexico and the United States. -
Passenger Cases
The Supreme Court stated legislation and enforcement of immigration restrictions was a matter for federal authority instead of the states -
The Coolie Trade Prohibition Act
During the Civil War Congress prevented plantation owners from replacing enslaved Africans with unfree Chinese workers. -
Emancipation Proclamation
President Abraham Lincoln's executive order to free the slaves. -
14th Amendment
Everyone born or naturalized in the United States is considered a U.S. citizen. -
Naturalization Act of 1870
Extended naturalization rights to Africans by denied the rights to Asians. -
The Page Act of 1875
Prohibited the recruitment of unfree laborers and women for "immoral purposes" into the United States. Primarily enforced against the Chinese. -
Angell Treaty of 1880
The United States was permitted to restrict Chinese immigration. -
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
A ten-year ban on Chinese laborers immigrating into the United States. -
The Dawes Allotment Act
This act allowed the federal government to allot tribal reservation lands. Native Americans who received the allotments could gain U.S. citizenship but often lost their land. -
Immigration Act of 1891
Created the Office of the Superintendent of Immigration in the Treasury Department. -
Geary Act
After the Exclusion Act expired in 1892 Congress extended another ten years in the form of the Geary Act. -
Immigration Act of 1903
The act identified anarchists as exclusionary and arranged for their removal if detained. -
Extension of the Chinese Exclusion Act
In response to the Chinese government's effort to leverage better conditions for Chinese travelers, the United States Congress extended the act. As a result, Chinese communities organized an anti-American boycott. -
Anti-American Boycott
Chinese merchants and students coordinate boycotts of U.S. goods and services as a protest against the Chinese Exclusion laws. -
Expatriation Act of 1907
Any American woman who marries a non-citizen immigrant man needs to take the nationality of her husband. -
Jones-Shafroth Act
President Woodrow Wilson signed the act giving United States citizenship to Puerto Ricans. -
Indian Citizenship Act of 1924
Grants citizenship to all Native Americans born in the United States. -
Repeal of Chinese Exclusion
The Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed and followed by laws of an immigration system that reflected the United States values. -
Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986
Requires employers to not knowingly hire anyone is not authorized to work in the United States.
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