When Citizenship Depended on Race: Discussing Pre-World War II Restrictions
When citizenship depended on race, Asian American immigrants faced numerous barriers to becoming U.S. citizens before World War II. This introduction offers a visual journey through the history of these racial restrictions. Initially created for a webinar hosted by the Asian American Bar Association of Greater Chicago, the Federal Bar Association, and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, I am now broadening the reach of this critical narrative.
Exploring a Time When Citizenship Depended on Race
First, the naturalization law of 1790 restricted U.S. citizenship to “free white persons.” At that time, the U.S. population was 80 percent white and 20 percent black (18 percent enslaved person, 2 percent free).
Second, in the 1800s, Chinese immigrants started seeking U.S. citizenship, and some did become citizens thanks to judges who read the naturalization law’s restriction very narrowly. This helped contribute to a legislative backlash – an 1882 law specifically excluded the Chinese from naturalization and led to a slight decline in the Chinese American population.
Third, as other Asian immigrants came from different counties, they also sought citizenship, especially as some states required U.S. citizenship to own property and work in some professions. In 1922 and 1923, the U.S. Supreme Court held that Japanese and Hindu people were not “white” and thus were not eligible for citizenship.
Fourth, these restrictions had real consequences for Asian Americans, professionally and personally. This has significant implications for families since immigrants’ children were U.S. citizens if born in the United States, but the immigrants could not become citizens.
Finally, the United States started easing these restrictions in the 1940s and 1950s, in part because of international relations during and after World War II. In 1952, race was finally stricken as a requirement for citizenship. Further changes to immigration law in the 1960s led to a huge growth in the Asian American population.
Stephen Chahn Lee has written about Asian American legal history throughout his time as a lawyer, illuminating the pivotal legal battles fought by Asian Pacific Americans and their role in shaping the rights and freedoms we uphold today. This article was one of a series that Stephen wrote in 2023 and that grew out of an event that Stephen organized for the United States District Court of the Northern District of Illinois, the Federal Bar Association Chicago Chapter, the Asian American Bar Association of Greater Chicago, and other bar associations.
For further insights into pre-World War II American citizenship restrictions or for legal guidance with healthcare fraud defense, please get in touch with Stephen Lee Law.
Sources
Gibson, Campbell, and Kay Jung. Historical Census Statistics on Population Totals by Race, 1790 to 1990, and by Hispanic Origin, 1970 to 1990, for the United States, Regions, Divisions, and States. U.S. Census.
