1800 Alien Act, one of the four Alien and Sedition, expires
1802 Naturalization Act, one of the four Alien and Sedition Acts, repealed
1808 Congress bans importation of slaves
1819 Congress establishes reporting on immigration.
1830 Congress passes the Removal Act, forcing Native Americans to settle in Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River.
1845 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
1848 The Mexican-American War ends: U.S. acquires additional territory and people under its jurisdiction
1849 The California Gold Rush sparks first mass immigration from China.
1857 Supreme Court’s Dred Scott Decision declares blacks are not U.S. citizens; rules 1820 Missouri Compromise’s ban on slavery in the territories unconstitutional.
1860 Poland’s religious and economic conditions prompt immigration of approximately two million Poles by 1914.
1862 Congress passes the first law restricting immigration with 1862 law forbidding American vessels to transport Chinese immigrants to U.S.
1868 The 14th Amendment of the Constitution endows African Americans with citizenship.
The above timeline is just a brief outline of what happened between my last blog and this blog. For a number or reasons, slave importations was banned, interestingly- the U.S. started to keep track on incoming immigrants ( Example of a record could be found here http://www.archives.gov/global-pages/larger-image.html?i=/genealogy/images/passenger-list-l.jpg&c=/genealogy/images/passenger-list.caption.html ). I find it odd that we wanted to keep track of people coming in to America but on the other hand, America took over Mexican territory, and pushed the original Natives out of their homes. I find the American attitude was to clear out, move in and then not really want others to join. well, eventually Immigration was not the priority on everyones mind, it was equality. The most affected at the time were colored people because they were not considered citizens. Eventually, change came about and the same amendment that changes the future for our black americans, opened the door for people of many origins.
On June 13, 1866 the US government introduced Amendment 14 . The 14th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified July 28, 1868. Known as the "Reconstruction Amendment," it forbids any state to deny any person "life, liberty or property, without due process of law" or to "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of its laws." In the eyes of Immigration policy, the amendment grants citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States" which included former slaves who had just been freed after the Civil War.
Was this Maybe a change of heart- did the US finally warm up to immigration? I honestly can say that I hardly think so. Although warm intentions were not intended for immigrants coming to the U.S., this amendment did overturn the 1857 supreme court’s decision that blacks were not citizens and beautifully put an end to slavery. This amendment did leave allot of room for immigration advancement for non Americans. This caused a never-ending controversy about those that came to the United states and had children. "Subject to the jurisdiction thereof" was meant to exclude U.S.-born persons whose allegiance to the United States was incomplete from automatic citizenship For example, Native Indians were excluded from citizenship because of their tribal jurisdiction or “segregation.” Also not subject to American jurisdiction were ambassadors, foreign visitors, consuls, and their babies that they would birth here.
The way I look at things is that everyone that comes to this country is coming here for the same reason that the initial people did. n or “segregation.” Also not subject to American jurisdiction were ambassadors, foreign visitors, consuls, and their babies that they would birth here.
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Bibliography:
Claghorn, Kate Holladay. " The Foreign Immigrant in New York City," Reports of the Industrial Commission 15, 1901, 465-492
Daniels, Roger. Coming to America: A History of Immigration and Ethnicity in American Life. New York, 1990.
Smith, Geoffrey S. NATIVISM Encyclopedia of the New American Nation (http://www.americanforeignrelations.com/E-N/Nativism.html.)
OTHER LINKS:
Immigration Issues: A Bibliography
Immigration to the United States, 1789-1930
Eugenic Laws Restricting Immigration
