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May 14, 1565
First European Settlement
First permanent European settlement in the United States is established at St. Augustine, Florida, by the Spanish. -
Naturalization Act
Naturalization Act of 1790 provided the first rules to be followed by the United States in the granting of national citizenship other than by birth. The law limited naturalization to aliens who were “free white citizens”: leaving out large groups like slaves and Asian immigrants -
Alien and Sedition Act
Alien and Sedition Acts required 14 years of residency before citizenship and provided for the deportation of "dangerous" aliens. Changed to five-year residency in 1800. -
The War of 1812
The War of 1812 brings immigration to a complete halt as hostilities prevent transport across the ocean. -
Irish Potato Famine
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. -
California Gold Rush
California Gold Rush. The discovery of gold in 1848 brought a large rush of immigrants from around the globe. One of the largest groups to arrive in California was the Chinese. 20,000 Chinese miners arrived in California in 1852 alone. -
Treaty of Guadalupe
Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo ends Mexican-American War and allows the United States to acquire Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, California, and parts of Utah and Nevada from Mexico for $15 million. Mexican residents of the newly acquired territory are allowed to remain. They are subjected to serious discrimination but become the heart of labor for the American Southwest. -
14th Ammendment
African Americans gained citizenship with 14th Amendment. This granted citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States,” which included former slaves recently freed. In addition, it forbids states from denying any person "life, liberty or property, without due process of law" or to "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." -
Burlingame Treaty
Burlingame Treaty established formal relations between the United States and China. The treaty permitted free migration between the two countries and guaranteed the political and religious rights of such immigrants. The United States desired free migration because it sought to maintain the flow of Chinese labor, which was necessary for the construction of the trans-continental railroads. -
Henderson vs. Mayor of New York
Henderson v. Mayor of New York decision declared all state laws governing immigration unconstitutional; Congress must regulate "foreign commerce." Charity workers, burdened with helping immigrants, petition Congress to exercise authority and regulate immigration. Congress prohibits convicts and prostitutes from entering the country. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
Chinese Exclusion Act. First federal immigration law suspended Chinese immigration for 10 years and barred Chinese in U.S. from citizenship. Also barred convicts, lunatics, and others unable to care for themselves from entering. Head tax placed on immigrants. -
U.S. Immigration Act of 1907
The US immigration Act of 1907: Reorganized the states bordering Mexico (Arizona, New Mexico and a large part of Texas) into Mexican Border District to stem the flow of immigrants into the United States. -
Mexican Revolution
Mexican revolution begins, as a result of Mexico’s industrialization and the subsequent impoverishment of Mexico’s rural poor. The violence and turmoil resulted in large-scale migration of many Mexicans into the United States. Many sought to stay only as long as necessary to improve their economic situations and then to return to Mexico. Also, the United States government forcibly repatriated many of these immigrants when their labor was no longer necessary. -
The Great Depression
The Great Depression, immigration remained low. Annual quotas were also made permanent. President Roosevelt and the State Department essentially shut down immigration during the Great Depression as immigration went from 236,000 in 1929 to 23,000 in 1933. -
World War II
WWII led to labor shortages, as many of Americas were drafted into the military. Due to such labor shortages, the United States sought to use immigration to replenish its labor force. -
Immigration and Nationality Act
The Immigration and Nationality Act reflected the cold war atmosphere and anti-communism of the period, following World War II at the onset of the Korean War. It was passed over President Truman’s veto, who objected to the isolationist nature of the Act, as reflected in the inclusion of national origins quotas and the ideological exclusion provisions. The INA: (1)reaffirmed the national origins quota system,(2) limited immigration from the eastern hemisphere while leaving the western hemiphere. -
Immigration Reform and Control Act
The Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) was a comprehensive reform effort. It (1) legalized aliens who had resided in the United States in an unlawful status since January 1, 1982, (2) established sanctions prohibiting employers from hiring, recruiting, or referring for a fee aliens known to be unauthorized to work in the United States, (3) created a new classification of temporary agricultural worker and provided for the legalization of certain such workers; and (4) established a visa. -
Immigration Act of 1990
Immigration Act of 1990. Raised the quota ceiling to 700,000. This act also created a lottery program, the diversity lottery, for citizens of countries where the U.S. did not usually grant large numbers of visas. The act retained family reunification as the major entry path while more than doubling employment-related immigration. The law also provided for the admission of immigrations from “under-represented countries” to increase the diversity of the immigrant flow.
