Citizenship & Naturalization Laws
Awaiting Turn at Naturalization Office, New York, 1916
Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress
Embedded Files
LEGISLATING CITIZENSHIP & NATURALIZATION
U.S. Allotting Surveyor and His Interpreter Making an American citizen of Chief American Horse, Oglala Sioux, 1907
Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress (Download here)
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On July 4, 1776, America's Founding Fathers make a startling and revolutionary declaration: "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." While the "all men are created equal" sentiment may have been a euphemism for "all humanity," the marginalized status of women, children, the enslaved, and Native Americans at the start of our nation is undeniable.
With respect to immigrants, the nation's earliest citizenship and naturalization laws pertain to a narrow candidacy, specifically "any Alien being a free white person" meeting specific residency requirements. In fact, naturalization rights are not extended to all “aliens of African nativity and to persons of African descent,” until after the Civil War; at the same time, such rights remain denied to other non-white groups, particularly Asians.
Ensuing citizenship and naturalization laws are predominantly written by white men of influence responding to real and perceived challenges to American interests, such as industrial development, economic opportunity and disparity, isolationism, and war. Highlights of such laws through the end of World War II--demonstrating efforts to define and control the right of U.S. citizenship amidst such forces--appear below.
"Other states indicate themselves in their deputies . . . but the genius of the United States is not best or most in its executives or legislatures, nor in its ambassadors or authors or colleges or churches or parlors, nor even in its newspapers or inventors . . . but always most in the common people." --
Walt Whitman,
preface to Leaves of Grass, First Edition, 1855
Naturalization Act of 1790
Naturalization Act of 1790
March 26, 1790
The Naturalization Act of 1790 provides that “any Alien being a free white person” who has resided within the United States for two years can file a petition for naturalization in any common law court located in a state in which they had resided for at least one year. After “making proof to the satisfaction of such Court that he is a person of good character, and taking the oath or affirmation prescribed by law to support the Constitution of the United States,” such person would become a citizen. It also provides citizenship for children of U.S. citizens who are born abroad.
Naturalization Act of 1795
Naturalization Act of 1795
January 29, 1795
The Naturalization Act of 1795 amends the Naturalization Act of 1790 by: 1) requiring an applicant to submit a declaration of intent to become a citizen at least three years before naturalization, and 2) extending the minimum residence requirement to five years. The Act also requires all naturalized persons to be "attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States" and be "well disposed to the good order and happiness of the same." The Act also omits the term "natural born" vis-a-vis characterization of children born outside the U.S. to U.S. citizen parents.
Alien & Sedition Acts of 1798
Alien & Sedition Acts of 1798
June 25 to July 14, 1798
In 1798 the U.S. stands on the brink of war with France. The Federalist Party, which advocated for a strong central government, believes that Democratic-Republican criticism of Federalist policies is disloyal and fear that "aliens" (non-citizens) living in the U.S. will sympathize with the French. The Federalist-controlled Congress pass four laws--the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798--that: 1) raise the residency requirement from 5 to 14 years, 2) authorize the president to deport "aliens," and 3) permit their arrest, imprisonment, and deportation during wartime. The Sedition Act makes it a crime for American citizens to "print, utter, or publish . . . any false, scandalous, and malicious" writing about the government.
Naturalization Law of 1802
Naturalization Law of 1802
April 14, 1802
The Naturalization Law of 1802 replaces the Naturalization Act of 1798. It: 1) ensures that the "free white person" requirement remains in place, 2) requires an alien to declare, at least three years in advance, his intent to become a U.S. citizen, 3) reduces the previous 14-year residency requirement to 5 years, 4) considers resident children of naturalized citizens as citizens, 5) considers children born abroad to U.S. citizens as citizens, and 6) designates all state and territorial courts as district courts for naturalization purposes. Per point 6, "any court of record"--Federal, state, county, or municipal--can naturalize a new American citizen.
Naturalization Law of 1802
The naturalization laws of the United States; containing also the alien laws of the state of New York, Rochester, N.Y., D. M. Dewey, 1855
Selected Digitized Books, Library of Congress
(Download here)
Aaron Arrowsmith, cartographer
A map of the United States of North America, 01-01-1802
Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress
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Naturalization Act of 1824
Naturalization Act of 1824
May 26, 1824
The Naturalization Act of 1824 provides that any alien minor who is a free white person and who has lived in the U.S. for the three years before turning 21, and who continues to reside in the U.S., can become a citizen without timely filing a declaration of intent if he has reached the age of 21 and resided in the U.S. for five years at the time of filing his naturalization application.
In other words, aliens coming to the U.S. under age 18 can effectively declare their intent to become a citizen at the same time they file their petition for naturalization once they reach the age of 21 and have lived in the U.S. for five years (three of them as a minor).
Naturalization Law of 1824
The naturalization laws of the United States; containing also the alien laws of the state of New York, Rochester, N.Y., D. M. Dewey, 1855
Selected Digitized Books, Library of Congress
(Download here)
Naturalization Act of 1855
Naturalization Act of 1855
February 10, 1855
Also known as "An Act to Secure the Right of Citizenship to Children of Citizens of the United States Born Out of the Limits Thereof," the Naturalization Act of 1855 grants citizenship to certain immigrant women and the children of successful applicants. Per the Act, alien immigrant women can gain citizenship through marriage to an American citizen or the naturalization of her alien husband. (This is a legal concept known as coverture, that ties a woman's legal status to that of her husband). In addition, a child born outside of the U.S. is a U.S. citizen if the child's father is a U.S. citizen.
Naturalization Act of 1855
General Records of the U.S. Government; National Archives and Records Administration
(Download here)
Emigrants at Castle Garden -- Runner and Crimps at Work, 10-24-1868
New York Public Library, Digital Collections, Miriam & Ira Wallach Division of Art, Prints & Photographs
(Download here)
The Militia Act of 1862 makes it legal for African-American men to enlist in the United States army "for the purpose of constructing intrenchments, or performing camp service or any other labor, or any military or naval service for which they may be found competent." The law also offers emancipation to any slaves willing and able to serve as well as their families, with the stipulation that their owner be disloyal to the Union. In addition, aliens who received honorable discharges from the U.S. Army are not required to file declarations for citizenship.
Broadside written by Frederick Douglass
Men of Color to Arms, Philadelphia, 1863
Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
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U.S. Colored Troops at Port Hudson, Louisiana, 1864
Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs; National Archives & Records Administration
(Download here)
The Naturalization Act of 1870 extends naturalization rights to all “aliens of African nativity and to persons of African descent,” while denying the right to all other groups of non-whites, particularly Asians. Ostensibly, the law promotes integration and equality for African Americans; in reality, it maintains racial distinctions that deny naturalization rights and access to citizenship to Asian and other non-white immigrants.
The Naturalization Act of 1906 establishes new rules and requirements for attaining citizenship and creates the Federal Naturalization Service as an agency of the Bureau of Immigration to oversee all naturalization courts and cases. In effect, responsibility for the naturalization process is transferred to the Federal courts. The Act mandates standard naturalization forms; to prevent fraud, the new federal Naturalization Service collects copies of every naturalization record issued by every naturalization court across the country. Most significantly, the law also mandates "that no alien shall hereafter be naturalized or admitted as a citizen of the United States who can not speak the English language."
Lewis Hine, photographer
Immigrant Family in the Baggage Room of Ellis Island, 1905
Courtesy of Houston Museum of Fine Arts
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A group of Italian immigrants attending a class in English language, ca. 1890-1910
Archives & Special Collections of the University of Connecticut Libraries
(Download here)
Expatriation Act of 1907
Expatriation Act of 1907
March 2, 1907
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General Records of the U.S. Government; National Archives and Records Administration
(Download here)
The Expatriation Act of 1907 further extends the principle that women assume the citizenship of their husbands by stripping citizenship from U.S.-born women when they marry non-citizen immigrant men. Losing their citizenship bars women from certain kinds of employment and makes them vulnerable to detention and deportation. In short, Congress mandates that “any American woman who marries a foreigner shall take the nationality of her husband.” (In 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment provides women the right to vote; in response, this law is abolished with the Cable Act of 1922.)
Camp Upton Men taking Oath of Allegiance, 1918
Records of the War Department and General Staffs; National Archives and Records Administration
(Download here)
Alien Naturalization Act of 1918
Alien Naturalization Act of 1918
May 9, 1918
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Legisworks (Download here)
After the United States enters World War I, Congress passes the Alien Naturalization Act of May 9, 1918, to expedite naturalization for non-citizen members of the U.S. armed forces. Congress seeks to reward foreign-born service members and encourage immigrant enlistments. Eventually, hundreds of thousands of soldiers, sailors, and marines take advantage of this opportunity to become U.S. citizens under this act and subsequent legislation that extends military naturalization benefits to veterans of the war.
Howard Chandler Christy, illustrator
Americans All! Victory Liberty Loan, 1919
Records of the Bureau of Public Debt; National Archives & Records Administration
(Download here)
Cable Act of 1922
Cable Act of 1922
September 22, 1922
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General Records of the U.S. Government; National Archives & Records Administration
(Download here)
Also known as the "Married Women's Citizenship Act" or the "Women's Citizenship Act," the Cable Act of 1922 partially reverses the Expatriation Act of 1907. After women gain suffrage via the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920, both political parties introduce platform policies to address the issue of women's citizenship during the 1920 presidential campaign. In 1922, U.S. Representative John L. Cable (Ohio, R) introduces legislation to address the nationality of wives.
Congress swiftly enacts this law to restore citizenship to U.S.-born women who have married non-citizen husbands and thereby lost their citizenship under the Expatriation Act of 1907. This law addresses the discriminatory law that set married women’s citizenship according to that of their husbands and enabled white women to retain their U.S. citizenship despite marriages to foreign men. This right does not extend to women who marry “aliens ineligible for citizenship,” especially Asian immigrant men.
THE CABLE ACT OF 1920: A Case Study
Louisa Fouquet McDewar took this oath of allegiance to the U.S. to become repatriated after her husband died and she was no longer married. Though born in Louisiana, she had lost her citizenship by marrying Alexander McDewar, a citizen of Great Britain.
This form states that it is to be used by a "woman residing within or under the jurisdiction of the United States, who was a native-born citizen of the United States and who [had]...lost United States citizenship solely by reason of marriage prior to September 22, 1922...to an alien."
Hundreds of repatriation oaths like this one were submitted to courts across the country after the Cable Act was passed. If a woman had lost her citizenship by marriage between 1907 and 1922 and the marriage had since terminated through death or divorce, she could file an application and resume citizenship by taking an Oath of Allegiance.
Repatriation Oath of Louisa Fouquet McDewar, 03-08-1939
Records of the U.S. District Courts; National Archives & Records Administration (Download here)
Indian Citizenship Act of 1924
Indian Citizenship Act of 1924
June 2, 1924
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Records of the U.S. Senate; National Archives and Records Administration
(Download here)
Via the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, Congress regularizes the U.S. citizenship status of all Native Americans by birthright. (All other persons born within the United States had gained citizenship with the Fourteenth Amendment but not Native Americans, whose citizenship status had been allocated irregularly depending on descent, gender and marital status, and status to their tribal nations.) The law stipulates that all Native Americans born in the United States are automatically citizens by birth; they are the last main group to gain this right set forth in the Fourteenth Amendment.
Salish Women Sits With Her Grandchildren, St. Ignatius Mission, Montana, 1924
Photo courtesy of University Libraries, University of Washington
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Harris & Ewing, photographer
Calvin Coolidge and group of Native Americans at White House, Washington, D.C., 1924
Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress
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The Equal National Act of 1934 is the first statute that allows "derivative nationality"--an immigration law concept that allows a person to become a US citizen through a parent's citizenship or immigration--for children born abroad to pass from their mother. The Act allows a married woman with children who had been born abroad to transmit her citizenship to her children, provided the mother has resided in the United States before the child was born. However, the law is not retroactive; children born before 1934 have difficulty in proving claims to derivative citizenship from their mother.
The Repatriate Native-Born Women Act of 1936 provides marital expatriates—women whose marriages to aliens have ended through death or divorce—with an opportunity to regain their lost citizenship by filing an application. Upon approval, women can resume citizenship by taking an oath of allegiance; in addition, they must provide proof of U.S. birth or naturalization as well as proof that the marriage has ended. Women flock to the courts to file their applications. (Women involved in ongoing marriages continue to file the regular paperwork for naturalization until 1940.)
Martha Empay (nee Kuhnke), Application to Take Oath of Allegiance to the United States Under the Act of June 25, 1936, and Form of Such Oath, 07-24-1939
Records of the U.S. District Courts; National Archives & Records Administration
(Download here)
Albina Angela Fusco, Application to Take Oath of Allegiance and Form of Oath, 12-12-1952
Records of the U.S. District Courts; National Archives & Records Administration
(Download here)
Alien Registration Act of 1940
Alien Registration Act of 1940
June 28, 1940
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General Records of the U.S. Government; National Archives & Records Administration
(Download here)
The Alien Registration Act of 1940 requires that each alien living within U.S. borders go to their local post office and register their alien status with the government during a four month period ending in December of 1940. The registration process includes a questionnaire form and a requirement that fingerprints be taken at the time of registration (certain exclusions apply for diplomats, employees of foreign governments, and children under the age of 14). As the Immigration and Naturalization Service received the forms, an Alien Registration Number is assigned and an Alien Registration Receipt Card containing this number is mailed to each registrant as proof of alien status.
The Nationality Act of 1940 revises "the existing nationality laws of the U.S. into a more complete nationality code" by: 1) defining those persons who are "eligible for citizenship through birth or naturalization," and 2) clarifying "the status of individuals and their children born or residing in the continental U.S., its territories such as Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Philippines, Panama and the Canal Zone, or abroad." The law further defines who is not eligible for citizenship, and how citizenship can be lost or terminated. This legislation represents the first attempt since the founding of the U.S. to codify and unify all U.S. laws relating to nationality and naturalization.
Filipino Americans celebrating their newly gained U.S. citizenship [through the nationality act of 1940 which they had earned after fighting for the U.S. in WWII], 1940
Wikimedia Commons
(Download here)
Memorandum from Frederick J. Bailey to M. C. Latta, H.R. 3466, To Amend the Nationality Act of 1940 to Preserve the Nationality of Citizens Residing Abroad, 10-10-1945
Truman Presidential Library & Museum; National Archives & Records Administration
(Download here)
The Second War Powers Act exempts non-citizen service members from naturalization requirements related to age, race, residence, any educational tests, fees, filing a declaration of intention, and enemy non-citizen status. To become a citizen, a naturalizing service member must file a petition for naturalization and swear the required Oath of Allegiance. During World War II, the Immigration and Naturalization Service oversees the campaign to naturalize members of the U.S. Armed Forces. The Act also authorizes the first overseas naturalizations in the nation’s history.
Allred, Camp San Luis Obispo, photographer
U.S. Servicemen Taking Oath of Citizenship in California Courtroom, 03-23-1944
Courtesy of The National WWII Museum
(Download here)
Harry Oppenheimer, Certificate of Naturalization, 12-02-1943
Immigration & Naturalization Service; U.S. Department of Justice
(Download here)
Mary Oliver, photographer
Filipino farm workers in Pajaro Valley, near Watsonville, Calif., September 1939
Courtesy of Pajaro Valley Historical Association
(Download here)
Luce-Celler Act
Luce-Celler Act
July 2, 1946
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Legisworks (Download here)
Along with the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1943, the Luce-Celler Act further undermines Asian exclusion and emphasizes foreign relations over racial discrimination. The Act extends naturalization rights and immigration quotas to other key U.S. allies in Asia, the Philippines, and India. The Philippines gains independence from the United States on July 4, 1946, just four days after the Act is passed; without the passage of the Act, Filipinos would have been barred from immigrating to the U.S. India gains independence from Britain on August 15, 1947.
Specifically, the Act provides a quota of 100 Filipinos and 100 Indians from Asia to immigrate to the United States per year; this marks the first time they are allowed to naturalize as American citizens. Upon becoming citizens, they can own property under their names and petition for their immediate family members from abroad. More than 10,000 Filipinos already in the country before 1934 are able to become citizens as a result of the act.
Filipino Revolutionary War veterans on parade at the July 4, 1946 ceremony, 07-04-1947
Courtesy of private collection of Dr. Ricardo T. Jose
(Download here)
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