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Pequot War
The Peqot war was the first serious armed conflict between Indigenous people and settlers in New England. Hostilities between the settlers, Narragansetts, Pequots and smaller tribes had been brewing for years. In 1637, after provocations, the climax of the war had hit, when nearly 300 Pequot men, women and children were burned out of their village, and massacred. The war officially ended on September 1638 when the few survivors of the Pequot tribe were foced to sign the Treaty of Hartfod. -
Quakers become illegal aliens
Although most of the settlements were made by Englishmen, they nevertheless differed fundamentally in character and purpose, and pursued, in some instances, widely varying policies in the admission of new settlers. For a period of many years, beginning with 1656, the records of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, were filled with legislation designed to prevent the coming of the Quakers. -
Massachusetts Prohibits "Lame, Impotent, or Infirm Persons" from Entering
The first immigration of the 1700′s again came from Massachusetts who prohibited “lame, impotent, or infirm persons from entering without providing security that the town into which they settled would not be charged with their support. -
Pennsylvania Enacts Oath of Allegiance for German Immigrants
At a meeting on September 17, 1717, Williams Keith, Governor of Pennsylvania, said that foreigners from Germany settled in Pennsylvania without any certificates demonstrating their identity, origin and intention. Thus, he and the provincial Council ordered that those aliens take an oath of alllegience. -
First Alien Naturalization Act
The original 1790 Alien Naturalization Act provided the first rules to be followed by all of the United States in the granting of national citizenship. At that time and by that law naturalization was limited to aliens who were 'free white persons' and thus left out indentured servants, slaves, and most women, all of whom were considered dependents and thus incapable of casting an independent vote. -
Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo
On February 2, 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo ended the Mexican-American War allowing the United States to acquire Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, California, and parts of Utah and Nevada from Mexico. 80,000 Mexicans living in the territory are allowed to remain and receive citizenship. -
Passenger Cases of 1849
Massachusetts and New York passed laws taxing and otherwise impeding immigrants. These laws were appealed to the Supreme Court, which struck them down in the 'Passenger Cases' of 1849. -
Irish Immigration to US begins
After Irish immigration started in 1816, 5 million Irish immigrants came to the United States in the century after 1820. Their presence provoked a strong reaction among certain native-born Americans, known as nativists, who denounced the Irish for their social behavior, their impact on the economy, and their Catholic religion. -
Homestead Act of 1862
In 1862, the U.S. Congress offered to sell public lands to citizens and to immigrants at the cost of $1.25 per acre, or less. The law was designed to attract people to settle vast stretches of territory in the Midwest and West, and it was highly effective. The promise of land at a low price attracted hundreds of thousands of people from the East and from Europe. The offer greatly increased the numbers of people migrating westward. -
First Congressional Attempt to Centralize Immigration Control
First Congressional attempt to centralize control of immigration. A Commissioner of Immigration was appointed by the President to serve under the authority of the Secretary of State. Also, an authorized immigrant labor contracts whereby would-be immigrants would pledge their wages to pay for transportation. -
First Great Wave of European Immigrants
The 1880s saw a huge immigration explosion due to many great events during those years. The period between 1880 and 1924 witnessed an average of 560,000 immigrants per year, amounting to over 25 million immigrants over a 44 year period, along with a large numbers of Italians fleeing the economic and political climate of their homeland found a new home in America. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
With economic competition came dislike and even racial suspicion and hatred. Such feelings were accompanied by anti-Chinese riots and pressure, especially in California, for the exclusion of Chinese immigrants from the United States. The result of this pressure was the Chinese Exclusion Act, passed by Congress in 1882. This Act virtually ended Chinese immigration for nearly a century. -
Ellis Island Opens as Immigrant Entry Checkpoint
"From 1892 to 1954, over twelve million immigrants entered the United States through the portal of Ellis Island, a small island in New York Harbor. While the new immigration station on Ellis Island was under construction, the Barge Office at the Battery was used for the processing of immigrants. The new structure on Ellis Island, built of 'Georgia pine' opened on January 1, 1892, and the first entry took place on January 2, 1892. -
Gentlemen's Agreement
The Gentlemen's Agreement of 1907 was an informal agreement between the United States and the Empire of Japan whereby the U.S. would not impose restriction on Japanese immigration, and Japan would not allow further emigration to the U.S. The goal was to reduce tensions between the two powerful Pacific nations. -
Angel Island Immigration Station Opens
In 1905, construction of an Immigration Station began in the area known as China Cove. Surrounded by public controversy from its inception, the station was finally put into operation in 1910. Although it was billed as the 'Ellis Island of the West,' within the Immigration Service it was known as 'The Guardian of the Western Gate' and was designed control the flow of Chinese into the country. -
Magnuson Act of 1943
This was an act to repeal the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which established quotas for Chinese immigration, and allowed Chinese nationals in the U.S. to become naturalized citizens. Furthermore, due to the establishment of the quota, an increase of Chinese immigration became allowable. Chinese were allowed to enter the United States and Hawaii in numbers calculated according to Section 11 of the Immigration Act of 1924.
