In 1790, just a few years after the birth of the United States, Congress passed the first law defining who could become an American citizen. The Naturalization Act of 1790 established a process for granting citizenship to immigrants, but with a stark limitation—it was restricted to “free white persons” of good moral character who had …
In 1917, the United States took a decisive step in shaping its immigration policies, one that would define its borders and the people allowed to cross them. The passage of the Immigration Act of 1917 marked one of the most sweeping restrictions on immigration in American history. It was a bold, controversial move that reflected …
