U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Laws, 1790-1924
ERA
1790
LAW
Naturalization Act
1868
14th Amendment
1882
Chinese Exclusion Act
1882
The 1882 Act
1892
Plessy v. Ferguson,
“Separate but Equal” doctrine
1885
Alien Contract Labor Law,
Aka Foran Act
Various
1891 –
1907
1917
Immigration Act of 1917
1924
National Origins Act
DETAILS
All free white persons in US for 2 years are citizens
[Open immigration policy.]
Anyone born here is a citizen [only adult males can
vote]
Chinese are not allowed to immigrate.
Any Chinese working here cannot apply for US
citizenship
“Criminals, prostitutes, paupers, lunatics, idiots”
cannot immigrate. [Officials decided based on
visual inspection and exclusion lists.]
Supreme Court Case (not a law) that upheld all laws
barring African-Americans from specific public
places as long as an “equal” place was set aside for
them, e.g. schools, restaurants, drinking fountains,
bathrooms, pools, doctor’s waiting room.
(Homer Plessy 1/8th AfAm was denied a seat in 1st
class RR car.)
Employers cannot import workers in order to break
up a union.
Anarchists excluded. Anyone of “moral turpitude”
excluded. [Officials decided based on visual
inspection and exclusion lists.]
Suspected “political radicals” excluded. All others
must pass a literacy test. [The man of the family
must read aloud from the Protestant Bible in their
own language.]
Only 2% of 1890 immigrants to US from each
country allowed in. Professionals excluded from
these limits if the job cannot be filled by a citizen.
Latin American citizens have no limits – open
immigration.