First Attempts at a Naturalization Process
From the very beginning of the United States, our Founding Fathers recognized the importance of immigrants to our country. If they were not recent immigrants like Alexander Hamilton, they were descendants of them.
They also suspected, if they did not already know, that the population of the Thirteen Colonies grew from about 2.2 million in 1770 to over 3.9 million in 1790. The growth was not organic, i.e., citizens having large families but from people who came to the new United States.
Some immigrants were deserters from the British Army and their German mercenaries, and the French Army who came to help win our independence. But the largest “group” came from war-torn Europe, either as indentured employees with contracts to work for a set number of years or as people wanting a better life.
The reasons – religious and/or political freedom, escape from poverty and wanting a better life, and freedom to choose a profession – haven’t changed in 250+ years. Despite all our faults, we were then and still are, a beacon of hope to those who are oppressed.
In 1790, Congress passed the Naturalization Act of 1790. It laid out the path to citizenship by stating that one had to be at least 21 years of age, of “good character,” a U.S. resident for at least two years, and must give formal notice via a court appearance one year in advance of the date one wanted to become a U.S. citizen. It also stipulated that once the individual swore allegiance to the U.S. in a court and became a citizen, his/her children were also U.S. citizens.
As a point of interest, the Naturalization Act of 1790 is the only piece of legislation that uses the words “natural born citizens” found in the Constitution.
Fast forward five years. Congress repeals the Naturalization Act of 1790 and replaces it with the Naturalization Act of 1795. Again, Congress tinkered with the immigration process in three ways.
First, the 1795 legislation eliminated the restriction that only “free white” persons could immigrate. Second, it increased the residency period from two to five years. Applicants had to declare their intention to become U.S. citizens three years before their formal court appearance and taking the oath of citizenship.
The third stipulation was that the application to become a citizen had to be formal and in writing. And last, it also replaced the term “natural born citizens” with words that ensures children of U.S. citizens born outside the United States shall be considered as citizens of the United States.
How and why, Congress decided to amend the Naturalization Act of 1795 with the Naturalization Act of 1798, is a matter of debate that is beyond the scope of this post. Note that the 1798 law increased the residency period to 15 years and the notice requirement to five years. It also required the Federal government to keep records on those who immigrated. Some historians contend this was done to limit immigration, but if one looks at the growth of the U.S. population at the time, it didn’t slow it down. Census data shows that U.S. population was growing at over 35% every 10 years!
Four years later, The Naturalization Law of 1802 repealed the 1798 act except for the record-keeping requirement and reset the residency requirement to five years and the notice period to three years. Only “free white persons” were allowed to immigrate. It kept the provisions of the 1795 naturalization Act in that children of U.S. citizens living abroad were U.S. citizens and added the proviso that any children of naturalized citizens became U.S. citizens when they were born.
There is also a hangover from the American Revolution in the 1802 law. Any member of the British Army, and Loyalists who fought for the British, were required to gain formal approval from their state legislatures before they could apply for U.S. citizenship.
1857 engraving of emigrants arriving in Boston, Ballou’s Pictorial, October 31st, 1857
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