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English colonists land May 13 at Jamestown, Virginia, under the patent of the London Company.
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Slaves from Africa and the Caribbean were brought forcibly into the New World as early as 1619.
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The Mayflower anchors off Plymouth on December 21, and the colonists from England begin to disembark.
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The U.S. establishes first Native American reservation and policy of dealing with each tribe as an independent nation.
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The federal government requires two years of residency for naturalization. "Any alien, being free white person, may be admitted to become a citizen of the U.S."
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The Naturalization Act, passed by the US Congress on June 18, 1798, increased the period necessary for immigrants to become naturalized.
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Congress bans important of slaves.
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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.
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The California Gold Rush sparks first mass immigration from China.
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Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional for states to regulate immigration and to tax incoming passengers.
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Catholic and Jewish immigrants from southern and eastern Europe.
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Congress establishes a civil government in Puerto Rico and the Jones Act grants US citizenship to island inhabitants. US citizens can travel freely between the mainland and the island without a passport.
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The US enters WW1 and anti-Germans sentiment swells at homes.
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President Calvin Coolidge signs a bill granting Native Americans full citizenship.
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The Bracero Program ends after temporarily employing almost 4.5 million Mexican nationals.
