Not A Nation of Immigrants - Flashcards (Vocabulary Style)

A set of 50 vocabulary flashcards drawn from lecture notes on immigration, naturalization, and settlement in U.S. history.

Settler colonialism

A continuing system in which settlers establish and maintain political and economic dominance over Indigenous lands and people, often leading to displacement and erasure of Indigenous sovereignty.

Not a Nation of Immigrants (thesis)

The argument that the United States has always been a settler state, not a simple immigrant nation, with Indigenous dispossession and settler power shaping its history.

Indigenous sovereignty

The right of Indigenous nations to govern themselves within the borders of the United States.

Settler colony

A colony established by settlers who aim to remain and exert control over the land and its Indigenous populations.

Indigenous displacement

The forced or coerced removal of Indigenous peoples from their ancestral lands.

Thanksgiving Myth

Narratives that sanitize settler colonization and Indigenous displacement by presenting a harmonious story of national origins.

Naturalization law of 1790

The first U.S. law to establish a uniform rule for naturalization, typically allowing only free white persons after a residency period to become citizens.

Uniform Rule of Naturalization (1790)

The 1790 statute aiming to standardize how non-citizens could become citizens across states.

Two-year residency (1790 rule)

The initial requirement for eligibility to naturalize under the 1790 law.

Oath or affirmation (naturalization)

A formal promise to support the U.S. Constitution required in naturalization.

Good character (naturalization standard)

A judicial requirement asserting the applicant’s moral fitness to become a citizen.

Alien Friends Act (1798)

A law allowing the President to arrest or deport non-citizens from friendly nations deemed dangerous.

Alien Enemies Act (1798)

A law granting broad powers to detain or deport non-citizens during times of war or perceived threat.

Sedition Act (1798)

A statute criminalizing false or malicious writings against the U.S. government or its officials.

Aliens and Sedition Acts (1798)

A series of laws expanding government power over non-citizens and limiting political dissent.

Act to Prohibit the Importation of Slaves (1803)

A federal law that prohibited the importation of enslaved people into the United States, effective from 1808.

Act to Prohibit the Importation of Slaves (1807)

The extended prohibition on the international slave trade in the United States.

Missouri Compromise (1820)

A congressional agreement temporarily resolving sectional conflicts by admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as free, preserving balance in Congress.

Indian Removal Act (1830)

Legislation authorizing forced relocation of Native Americans to lands west of the Mississippi.

Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831)

Supreme Court decision recognizing Native nations as distinct political communities with limited federal jurisdiction.

Worcester v. Georgia (1832)

Supreme Court ruling affirming tribal sovereignty and limiting state power over Native nations.

Prigg v. Pennsylvania (1842)

A Supreme Court case upholding federal authority over fugitive slave law and the return of escaped slaves.

New York v. Miln (1837)

Supreme Court case validating a state’s police power to regulate immigration to protect public welfare.

Passenger Cases (1849)

Supreme Court ruling that bonds and taxes on immigrant passengers violated the federal government’s exclusive authority over immigration under the commerce clause.

Fugitive Slave Act (1850)

Federal law requiring the return of runaway enslaved people, with penalties for aiding escapees.

Personal Liberty Laws (mid-19th c.)

Northern state laws resisting the Fugitive Slave Act by expanding personal rights and limiting enforcement.

Coolie Trade Prohibition Act (1862)

A law aimed at prohibiting the transport of Chinese laborers (coolies) for slavery-like exploitation abroad.

Act to Encourage Immigration (1864)

A federal act intended to promote immigration by encouraging the recruitment of European workers.

Burlingame Treaty (1868)

A treaty with China promoting open migration and favorable relations, contrasting with later restrictive policies.

13th Amendment (1865)

Abolished slavery in the United States and its territories.

14th Amendment (1868)

Grants citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the U.S. and guarantees equal protection under the law.

15th Amendment (1870)

Prohibits denying a citizen the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Reconstruction Amendments (13th–15th)

A trio of amendments expanding federal power to protect civil rights and limit states’ ability to enforce racial hierarchy after the Civil War.

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

Supreme Court case that broadly defined commerce and established federal supremacy over interstate commerce.

New York v. Miln (revisited)

Reference to the case recognizing state police power; see entry 21 (above).

Henderson v. New York (1875)

Supreme Court decision affirming federal authority to regulate immigration-related bonds and fees.

Chy Lung v. Freeman (1875)

Supreme Court ruling that California’s bond scheme for Chinese women interfered with federal authority over immigration.

Page Act (1875)

A federal law restricting immigration of Chinese women to curb prostitution and perceived moral threat.

Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)

Federal law prohibiting entry of most Chinese laborers to the United States.

Scott Act (1888)

Prohibition on re-entry of Chinese laborers who had left the United States.

Chae Chan Ping v. United States (1889)

Supreme Court case establishing federal sovereignty over immigration; residency abroad could be denied entry.

Nishimura Eikiu v. United States (1892)

Case expanding federal power to regulate immigration, even for persons inside the U.S.

Fong Yue Ting v. United States (1893)

Case affirming federal authority to deport illegal or unwanted immigrants.

Monroe Doctrine (1823)

U.S. policy opposing European interference in the Western Hemisphere and shaping its early imperial stance.

Cherokee Agency (1835)

Treaty and government actions affecting Cherokee lands and removal under U.S. policy.

Angel Island detention (context)

Chinese immigrant women detained under state inspection policies, later a matter for federal adjudication.

Indian Boarding Schools (Carlisle)

Institutions aimed at assimilating Native American children by erasing Indigenous languages and cultures.

Not “a Nation of Immigrants” (Dunbar-Ortiz article)

A critical essay arguing that the U.S. is a settler state with a settler-colonial history, not a simple immigrant nation.

Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

Historian who argues against the idea that the U.S. is a nation of immigrants; author of Not a Nation of Immigrants.

Vattel, The Law of Nations

18th-century treatise cited to justify sovereignty claims over immigration and borders.

Police power (historical meaning)

State and local authority to regulate health, safety, morals, and general welfare; used to regulate entry and movement.

Commerce Clause

Constitutional provision allowing Congress to regulate commerce with foreign nations and among states; central to immigration regulation debates.

Treaty power

Presidential and Senate capacity to shape immigration policy through international agreements.

“Alien” vs. “immigrant”

Legal terminology distinguishing non-citizens (alien) from those who migrate and may become citizens (immigrant).

Pauper immigrants (historic context)

Poor migrants treated as potential public charges; laws often used to regulate their entry and relief costs.

Quarantine and port inspections

Public health measures used by states to regulate movement of people and prevent illness, often tied to immigration.

Public health and safety as a police aim

A justification used by states to regulate immigration and mobility under police power.

Bond/Tax for alien passengers (Passenger Cases)

Fees or bonds imposed on ships bringing foreign passengers; later struck down as exceeding state powers.

William Lloyd Garrison-era anti-slavery rhetoric

Context for 19th-century anti-slavery sentiment, often tied to nativity and religion.

Burlingame Treaty (1868) vs later restrictions

Early openness to Chinese immigrants contrasted with later exclusion policies.

Angel Island: gateway narrative

Immigration detention site for many Chinese and other migrants; highlighted by Chy Lung context.

Native American treaties and sovereignty debates

Legal framework affecting Indigenous nations’ status within the United States.

Native American citizenship (1924 act)

Granting U.S. citizenship to Native Americans born in the U.S., tying to broader sovereignty debates.

Immigrant nationalism vs. settler sovereignty

Tension between inclusive national myths and exclusive sovereignty narratives.

Fourteenth Amendment’s citizenship groundwork

Foundational clause establishing birthright citizenship and equal protection implications.

Immigration policy as national sovereignty

Idea that controlling immigration is a facet of national sovereignty, not just local policy.