Citizenship : The Identity Of The United States

“In its first words on the subject of citizenship, Congress in 1790 restricted naturalization to “white persons.” Though the requirements for naturalization changed frequently thereafter, this racial prerequisite to citizenship endure for over a century and a half, remaining in force until 1952” (López, 1). As persons from other countries migrated to the United States and attempted to acquire citizenship, the question of whiteness, specifically who and why an individual was white, arose; “whether one was “white,” however, was often no easy question” (López, 1).

(1) Why was the last half of the 1800s a time of conflict over the meanings of citizenship in relation to race, ethnicity, and gender?

Since its inception, America has been called the land of opportunity, but around the late nineteenth century the United States started limiting the entry of European and Chinese immigrants. These closed door policies for European and Asian immigration in the 1920s were a result of increased racism in the United States. People living in the United States began to redefine and selectively narrow the amount of ethnicities that the word white included. The book Passing of the Great Race by Madison Grant stated that the white race can be broken up into superior and inferior races. According to Grant, people who were of Nordic descent made up the superior upper class, while the other European immigrants and Jews were considered low class and inferior. Grants novel defined who is considered to be white which subsequently led to the mistreatment of the inferior white race in America.

Congress later passed the Indian Citizenship Act in 1924 which granted citizenship to all Indians. This citizenship decree was the logical political manifestation of the assimilation program, and brought with it the expectation that Indians would be brought in line with other Americans in the areas of civil and criminal law. The Indian Citizenship Act supposedly gave Indians the privilege of voting, the obligation to perform compulsory military duty when called, and to pay taxes on off-reservation revenues. It is estimated that two-thirds of the Indians had acquired citizenship before the passage of the Indian Citizenship Act. Still, some Indian nations did not recognize the Citizenship Act because they did not feel that one sovereign nation

The Naturalization Act of 1790 enforced the idea that only free white people could become a citizen of the United States (Lecture, Week 2). This act is significant because it shows how prevalent racism and sexism was back then. After learning about the citizenship process in the video, Becoming a U.S. Citizen: An Overview of the Naturalization Process, it shows how conditions have significantly improved and highlights how the United States’ citizenship process has progressed.

Jacobson spends a great deal of time analyzing the way in which ideas about citizenship played into changing perceptions about race and whiteness at the turn of the Twentieth Century. This is expressed in the constant evaluation of a given group’s “fitness for self-government” and how this concept was used to promote inferiority among particular “races” and thus maintain traditional power relations. Jacobson states that “citizenship and whiteness were conjoined,”(p.29) and in saying so he is commenting on the very foundations of the American power structure as it took on the task of deciding who would be entitled to the rights and privileges of being American. It is to this point that further discussion of gender is necessary. If citizenship is understood as being fundamentally connected to the right to participate in democracy then it must be noted that this right was systematically denied to women as well as non-whites at the turn of the Twentieth Century. Therefore to truly benefit from the privileges of American citizenship one need not only be white but also male, a reality that is not expressed in Jacobson’s analysis. By not including a further analysis on gender, Jacobson leaves the reader with the impression that race relations operated independent of gender relations, when in fact sexuality was deeply connected to the construction of racial identities. Jacobson

Citizenship can be defined as the position or status of being a citizen in a particular country (Oxford Dictionaries, 2016). This definition is not very broad, nor does it cover the many aspects of citizenship that exist in the 21st century. It is not only about being a legal citizen of a particular country, it is also about being a social citizen. You can be a citizen of Australia but choose to live elsewhere for the majority of your life. In terms of citizenship it is relevant on a political and social level. If you are actively contributing to the country in which you live in some ways you are fulfilling your duties as a citizen.

Minority groups, socially created through the division of people, struggled to obtain privileges in a world influenced heavily by Whiteness. Legal policy, such as the Naturalization Law and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, differentiated racial grups and oppressed people. The United States used Whiteness as the scale of privilege and ensured other racial groups would not receive the same

7). During this period, the population of European origin was homogeneous, while the population of color combination was starkest. Jacobson explains that the 1790 law codified the assumptions of white privilege dating from the seventeenth century colonial charters, statutory law, and the Articles of Confederation. The idea of citizenship was weaved with whiteness and maleness before the Revolution, because citizen was someone who could help put down a slave rebellion or participate in Indian wars (p. 25). The only chattel slaves were of African descent, the only savages were the indigenous peoples, and most of the rest were British descended Christians. The 1790 law set a mandating precedent that even the “uncivilized” immigrants from Europe could automatically be regarded as whites, in contrast to the Indians and black slaves.

America’s society has been built on racial beliefs. As much as we believe that America is a country of acceptance, freedom, and equality, people of color have been thought of and treated as inferior races. As research continued, scientists believed that other white races like the Europeans, Germans, and Irish, were white people in transition and would eventually meet their high standards. They believed that they could assimilate into American society and become white Americans; however, Asians, blacks, or any other minority was immediately disregarded as ever becoming American. Being white was a ticket to citizenship. In 1790, congress passed an act called the Naturalization Law, which stated that only free white immigrants could become naturalized citizens. Later on in 1870, the law expanded

Over a century ago, the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution was implemented to grant citizenship to individuals born within the country. This was the first time that it was defined what it means to be a citizen in the U.S. While the amendment was created to address the citizenship of slaves, it is currently under speculation in regards to granting U.S. citizenship to children born to undocumented immigrants (Gans, 2012). While there have been many arguments to place restrictions or eradicate granting children of undocumented immigrants U.S. citizenship, the constitutional right remains the same: if you are born on U.S. land, you are a citizen (Angelo, 2013). This paper argues that the birthright citizenship of U.S. born children of undocumented immigrants should continue to be granted based on the underlying principles of the 14th Amendment and the possible implications of ending birthright citizenship. First, this paper describes birthright citizenship and the 14th Amendment, as well as its use in several Supreme Court cases that are significant to this issue. Then, various implications of eradicating birthright citizenship are discussed. Before discussing the possible consequences of eradicating birthright citizenship, it is imperative to discuss the history and principles underlying it.

By the end of the war, the new immigrant groups had been fully accepted as loyal ethnic Americans, rather than members of distinct and inferior “races.” And the contradiction between the principle of equal freedom and the actual status of blacks had come to the forefront of national life.

Americans have not only defined themselves by their religious, ethnic and racial identity, but also by their individual freedom and common values. America has become a nation where its people can fight for what they believe in. Our founding fathers have formed America to be “the land of the free and the home of the brave”. Being apart of the American culture and living on the land founded by our leaders specifies the meaning of the American Identity.

“We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish the Constitution for the United States of America.” Without the right that the Constitution brings us, we wouldn’t have rights therefore the United States wouldn’t be a good place to live in. The Constitution brings us the right of freedom of speech (first amendment) , the right to bear arms (second amendment), and the right to protect against unreasonable government actions such as search and seizure of person property (fourth amendment). Being an American citizen means that you have rights that they would like you to fulfil. As an American citizen is it voluntary to vote, but others are required such as obeying the law and paying taxes. The Magna Carta, John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government, and the Petition of Rights explains the rights and the responsibilities of an American citizen.

So what does citizenship means to me? Is it just a piece of paper that says you are a citizen of a country or does it mean something more in a deeper level. When I was just a little boy my mother always talks about that when we move to the United States we should apply for citizenship immediately. As I was growing up here in the United States I slowly understand what citizenship means to me. Being a citizen for me is fulfilling my obligations toward my country, Living a lifestyle that benefits myself and my community and having good sense of patriotism.