A Historical Brief on the Federal Naturalization Law
The American Revolution had a huge impact on slaves, women, average white males, Native Americans, African Americans, and Asians on the North American continent. Following independence from Great Britain, the colonists had to establish the foundation of a new and functioning government. It was this swiftly evolved repositioning we now see intertwined with today’s pluralistic society across the United States that is a direct result of the groundwork resulting from the Constitution and history itself reflecting upon reform. The very definition of reform has been confounded by many historians with various interpretations of the Revolutionary Era, and its success acting as one closed circuit; it was not until after the Revolutionary War these reformed ideas were debated. One element of this debate involves national citizenship under the Federal Naturalization Law of 1790 which excluded Native Americans, Asians, slaves, freed slaves, and African Americans. This essay will address why this law became established, and what group of people specifically this enacted law was directed towards.
To begin with, it is important to recognize that upon entering the Revolutionary Era the colonists were attempting to escape a dual identity that they shared with Europe. Many Europeans had grown socially accustomed to a feudal system that had dominated their culture for ages. “Americans agreed they were no longer subjects of a king but citizens of a republic, in which government ruled by the consent of the governed.” (Ngai and Gjerde 2013, 76) To enumerate, establishing an individual identity required the Thirteen Original Colonies to become further separatists from the previous ideologies which had confined their vision of freedom itself. In order to accomplish this separation and reach the goal of freedom by an established government, the Founding Fathers had to hold the Constitutional Convention of 1787. In The Founding Fathers: A Reform Caucus in Action John P. Rouche states, “No doubt the goals of the constitutionalists were “subversive” to the existing political order, but it is overlooked that their subversion could only have succeeded if the people of the United States endorsed it by regularized procedures.” (Rouche 2013, 137) Under these circumstances, a strong contention can be made that national citizenship under the Federal Naturalization Law of 1790 was directed towards the people (colonists) of the United States at the time because they themselves had supported this political process throughout the Revolutionary Era. Additionally, citizenship meant completely shedding the dual identity of complying with each demand of Great Britain’s government.
With this in mind, it is with utmost importance we look through the historical binoculars at the United States Census data of 1790 in order to examine who specifically these people were. “The first US Census was conducted in 1790. The census categorized the population of the new nation according to liberty, sex, and age: free white males age 16 and older, free white males under age 16, free white females, all other free people, and slaves.” (Yung, Irene; Sue, Caryl; 2013) The National Geographic website also mentions, “the total population of the US Census of 1790 was 3,893,635. (Yung, Irene; Sue, Caryl; 2013) It is important to point out, that the categorized breakdown of the population demonstrates how the new nation’s society classified people. In fact, this very breakdown is practically a mirror image within the wording of the Naturalization Act of 1970. “Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That any alien, being a free white person, who shall have resided within the limits under the jurisdiction of the United States for the term of two years, maybe admitted to become a citizen thereof, on application to any common law court of record, in any one of the states wherein he shall have resided for one year at least.” (Ngai and Gjerde 2013, 78) The Naturalization Act of 1790 goes on to mention, children under the age of 21, and children born outside of the US but to parents that were citizens were also naturalized in citizenship. (Ngai and Gjerde 2013)
Generally speaking, it was the European colonists that enacted the Naturalization Act of 1790 in order to escape the dual identity with their former European nations. Further proof of this exists within the last line of the act itself which states, “Provided also, That no person heretofore proscribed by any state, shall be admitted a citizen as aforesaid, except by an act of legislature of the state in which such person proscribed.” (Ngai and Gjerde 2013, 78) As can be seen, acts of legislation for citizenship had to go through the state itself, rather than to back to Europe. Ultimately, the United States Revolutionary Era was indeed “revolutionary” given that a government was established to represent the will of the people, and this has paved the way for future reforms. “In 1952, under pressure from lobbying groups including Japanese-American veterans, Congress rescinded the “white”-only restriction of the 1790 Naturalization Law.” (Takaki 2008, 17)
Works Cited
Yung, Irene; Sue, Caryl;. National Geogrpahic 1790 US Census. February 13, 2013. https://www.nationalgeographic.org/media/us-census-1790/ (accessed November 20, 2017).
