1776: Declaration of Independence assails King George III for preventing colonies from naturalizing new settlers.
1790: Naturalization reserved for "free white person[s]" with at last two years residence.
1802: Jeffersonian Republicans repeal 14-year residency mandate breifly imposed by rival Federalists.
1848: Treaty ending U.S.-Mexico War guarantees citizenship to Mexican subjects in new territories, including California. Federal courts later cite treaty as removing racial bars to naturalization for Mexican settlers.
1857: Dred Scott decision holds that a "negro" cannot be a citizen.
1868: Fourteenth Amendment grants citizenship to those U.S.-born, cementing status of most blacks but leaving uncertainty on other minorities.
1882: Chinese Exclusion Act bars Chinese from naturalization.
1898: U.S.-born children of foreign nationals guaranteed citizenship, Supreme Court rules, even if immigrant parents are barred.
1906: Safeguards set for naturalization includes ability to speak and understand English.
1931: Repeal of statute stripping women of citizenship if they marry a foreigner racially barred from becoming a citizen.
1940: Birthright citizenship to Native Americans granted.
1944: Then record 442,000 naturalize amid wartime anxiety; 96% are Europeans, 1 in 4 Italian.
1952: Law amended to say citizenship "shall not be denied or abridged because of race or sex," ending 162-year legacy of racial bars.
1996: Record of more than 1.1 million people take citizenship oath; Asians and Latinos top list.
1997: Amid charges that ineligible criminals are being naturalized, federal officials move to strip citizenship of 5,000 immigrants with criminal arrest records.*
