Aliens then residing in the United States might be naturalized after two years' residence. This Act was fathered by James Madison, then a member of Congress. President Jefferson, in his first message to Congress, advocated a revision of the Naturalization Law, to the end that "the general character and capabilities of a citizen be safely communicated to everyone manifesting a bona fide purpose of embarking his life and fortunes permanently with us.” Accordingly the Jeffersonian Congress of 1802 repealed the Act of 1795, and enacted one1 which remained substantially in force for more than a century, Its provisions, in the main, were as follows: I. Naturalization jurisdiction was vested in the supreme, superior, district and circuit courts (a district court meaning any court of record having common-law jurisdiction) in the states and territorial districts and in the circuit and district courts of the United States. II. The Declaration of Intention was still required, with the three years' interval before final application. III. Five years' residence in the United States and one in the State was still required. IV. Oath of allegiance to the United States, with specific renunciation of former allegiance. V. Proof of good moral character and attachment to the principles of the United States. Under this Act the children of persons duly naturalized were, if resident in the United States, to be considered citizens, and those born elsewhere were to enjoy the same status, provided that the citizenship should not descend to children whose fathers never resided in the United States. An Act passed in 1804 slightly modified the regula 1 United States Statutes-at-Large, vol. ii, pp. 153-155. tion in favor of aliens residing in the United States between 1798 and 1802, and provided also that in case a "declarant" should die before his naturalization had been consummated, his widow and minor children should be deemed citizens upon taking the prescribed oath.1 During the second war with England, in 1813, an Act was passed requiring the five years' residence to be absolutely unbroken by any absence whatever from the United States, and prescribing penalties for forgery or sale of naturalization certificates.2 Later in the same year another law was passed to permit the naturalization of alien enemies (then Englishmen) who had declared intention prior to June 18, 1812.3 Another important amendment was made in 1816.4 In 1824, following a period of agitation for earlier naturalization, Congress passed an Act, the most important provision of which reduced from three to two years the minimum interval between the declaration of intention and final naturalization. It is interesting to note that this agitation for more liberal conditions came, as might be expected, at the time of the initial influx of aliens to the Eastern cities, and the beginnings of the political exploitation of the "foreign vote." 6 Further slight changes were made in 1828, and after twenty years more, in 1848, Congress abolished the restriction of 1813 which forbade any absence whatever from the country during the five years' period of "continuous residence." But during all of the period between 1820 and the Civil War there was an increasing "Native American" agitation for narrower, rather than more liberal, restrictions, even to the point of abolishing naturalization altogether. Innumerable bills 1 United States Statutes-at-Large, vol. ii, pp. 292–293. 2 Ibid., p. 811. 3 Ibid., vol. iii, p. 53. 4 Ibid., vol. iii, p. 259. 7 Ibid., vol. ix, p. 240. were introduced reflecting this agitation; but, owing both to the increasing importance of the foreign-born element in politics, and to the underlying realization that the nation must have a constant accretion of population, no such legislation reached the statute books. The three minor amendments enacted during and immediately after the Civil War were designed to meet conditions arising out of the state of war.1 In 1876 the Act of 1802 was amended so that the declaration of intention could be made, as it is now, before the clerk of any of the courts having naturalization jurisdiction. And in 1872 and 1894 provision was made for the easier naturalization of the United States soldiers, sailors, marines, and merchant seamen, about whose permanency of residence there was embarrassment.3 BARS UP AGAINST ALIEN ANARCHISTS The assassination of President McKinley, in 1901, by a professed anarchist brought to a head the feeling against foreign ultra-radicals, and resulted in the enactment in 1903 of the restriction against the admission to this country of persons believing in the abolition of organized government or the removal of public officers by violence. This test is widely applied now by judges and by the Naturalization Service in the examination of applicants for citizenship. VARIOUS PRESIDENTS DISCUSSED NATURALIZATION The importance of the subject of the absorption of foreign-born persons into our life is reflected all through 1 United States Statutes-at-Large, vol. xii, p. 597. 2 Ibid., vol. xix, p. 2. 3 Ibid., vol. xvii, p. 268, and vol. xxviii, p. 124. the records of the government; allusions to it may be found in a large proportion of the messages of the Presidents to Congress. John Adams found occasion to express abhorrence of "intrigues of foreign agents to alienate the affections of the Indians and to arouse them to acts of hostility." The liberal sentiments of Thomas Jefferson appeared in his early recommendation of a revision of the law requiring fourteen years' residence: "Shall we refuse the refuge extended to our fathers," said he, in substance, "to the unhappy fugitives from distress arriving in this land? Shall oppressed humanity find no asylum on this globe?" But at the same time he remarked that for admission to certain offices of trust, a residence should be required sufficient to develop character and an appreciation of the design of our institutions. James Madison's interest in the subject was exhibited throughout his administration, and especially in his activities on the floor of Congress. President Buchanan insisted upon the full status for naturalized citizens. Our Government is bound [said he] to protect the rights of our naturalized citizens everywhere to the same extent as though they had drawn their first breath in this country. We can recognize no distinction between our native and naturalized citizens. Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson touched upon the question of the French and Russian claims upon immigrants who came here merely to escape military service; Lincoln pointing out that there should be a time limit beyond which the United States would not attempt to protect persons who came here for that reason and then returned to their native countries claiming to be American citizens; Johnson, on the other hand, emphasizing the effect of naturalization in absolving the individual from all former allegiance. President Grant urged Congress to define the conditions of expatriation, and to regulate by law the status of children of aliens becoming naturalized, and that of American women marrying noncitizens. He also drew attention to the growing evil of fraudulent naturalization, and urged the establishment of a system of uniform certificates and records. President Arthur also called for a central bureau of registry, and for a general revision of the naturalization law, pointing out that much of it now had only historical interest, that the provisions regarding children of naturalized parents were ambiguous, and that the constitutional authority to establish "an uniform rule” called for a clear definition of the status of 'persons born within the United States subject to a foreign power, and minor children of fathers who have declared their intention but have failed to perfect their naturalization." President Cleveland devoted a good deal of attention to the subject. He, too, emphasized the need of centralized Federal control over the records, and repeatedly called for a general revision of the law, insisting that the "privilege and franchise of American citizenship" should be granted with scrupulous care. He gave warning against "the easy and unguarded manner in which certificates of naturalization can now be obtained," and the growth of a class of persons who availed themselves of it for political purposes. Benjamin Harrison emphasized the need of an investigation of the moral character of the applicant for citizenship, to make more certain the existence of a "good disposition toward our government"; calling also for a more particular system of court hearings, with |