Source: Lecture 13
Tags: race, citizenship, immigration, naturalization, whiteness, Page Act, 1965 Immigration Act, Ozawa v. U.S., U.S. v. Thind, racial triangulation, multivalent citizenship, alien, national origins quota, Mae Ngai
U.S. citizenship has historically been defined through race, with whiteness as the default legal standard from 1790 onward. A series of laws and court cases (Page Act, Naturalization Acts, Ozawa, Thind) built a system where access to citizenship depended on whether you were recognised as "white," a category the courts never formally defined. The 1965 Immigration Act finally removed race-based restrictions, but the legacy of racial exclusion continues to shape how citizenship is experienced as identity, not just legal status.
Page Act (1875)
The first restrictive federal immigration law. Targeted Chinese women by linking them to prostitution, effectively blocking family formation in Chinese communities. Not lifted until 1972.
Naturalization Act of 1790
Limited naturalization to "free white persons." Established whiteness as the baseline assumption for citizenship. All non-white groups had to argue their way in.
1870 Naturalization Extension
Extended naturalization rights to Black people, but did not include other racial groups.
1924 National Origins Act
Imposed national-origin quotas on immigration, effectively shutting the door on non-white and non-Western European immigration. Reduced immigration from 15% of the population (1907) to near 0% by 1933.
1965 Immigration Act (Hart-Celler Act)
Removed race-based restrictions on immigration. Created three admission categories: (1) refugees, (2) family reunification, (3) employment. Resulted in massive diversification of the U.S. population. Partly motivated by Cold War pressure to project global moral leadership.
1986 Immigration Reform ("Trigger Effect")
Offered amnesty to undocumented residents while simultaneously tightening future immigration controls. A trade-off: legalise those already here, restrict those yet to come.
Ozawa v. U.S.
Supreme Court case involving a Japanese immigrant seeking naturalization. Related to the broader issue of Issei (first-generation Japanese) being barred from land ownership, with restrictions also affecting Nisei (second generation) and Sansei (third generation).
U.S. v. Thind
Bhagat Singh Thind argued that Indians were scientifically Caucasian and therefore white. The Court rejected the scientific argument, ruling that "white" is defined by common understanding, not science. The result: whiteness is whatever white people say it is, and the Court defined it only by what it is not.
Issei / Nisei / Sansei
Japanese generational terms. Issei (first generation, immigrants), Nisei (second generation, born in the U.S.), Sansei (third generation). Issei could not own land; restrictions cascaded through generations.
Racial Triangulation
A framework with two axes: (1) social value (inferior to superior) and (2) citizenship (foreigner to insider). Whites occupy the "superior insider" position. African Americans are positioned as "inferior but insider." Asian Americans are positioned as "foreigner but superior to African Americans." This triangulation keeps non-white groups from building solidarity by assigning them different disadvantages.
Bachelor Societies
Chinese communities in the U.S. that were predominantly male, with very few families. White society pointed to this as evidence of cultural inferiority, but the gender imbalance was a direct result of laws like the Page Act that excluded Chinese women.
Mae Ngai, "Alien Indigestion"
Scholarship examining the relative value placed on "aliens" (immigrants) in U.S. law and culture. Explores how different immigrant groups were valued or devalued depending on race and perceived assimilability.
Multivalent Citizenship (Bosniak's Framework)
Four dimensions of citizenship: (1) legal status, (2) rights, (3) political activity, (4) identity. The first three are only fully granted when the fourth, identity, is recognised. You can hold legal citizenship and still be treated as an outsider if your identity is not accepted.
Volpp on Citizenship as Identity
The guarantees of citizenship as status, rights, and political participation are not enough to produce citizenship as identity. In other words, having a passport does not mean society sees you as belonging.
Whiteness of a Different Colour
Refers to groups that were not initially considered white (e.g. Irish, Jewish Americans) but gained access to whiteness over time through legal and social processes. They entered the category of "white" despite earlier exclusion.
Riff Raff Immigration
A nativist framing of certain immigrant groups as a threat to American values. Used to justify restrictive immigration policies.
White American society restricted interracial marriage and linked Chinese female immigration to prostitution
Chinese communities were labelled "bachelor societies" because they were mostly single men with few families
This was used to claim white cultural superiority (valuing family life)
The irony: it was U.S. law itself (the Page Act) that excluded Chinese women, creating the very conditions it then criticised
1790: Naturalization Act limits citizenship to "free white persons"
1870: Naturalization extended to Black Americans
1875: Page Act restricts Chinese female immigration (not lifted until 1972)
1899: People with HIV excluded from entry (a public health rationale layered onto immigration restriction)
1924: National Origins Act imposes quotas, slashing non-Western European immigration
1965: Hart-Celler Act removes race-based restrictions, opens three admission categories
1986: Amnesty offered alongside tighter immigration controls ("trigger effect")
Ozawa v. U.S.
A Japanese immigrant's attempt to naturalise
Connected to land ownership restrictions on Issei (first generation)
Raised the question of whether the narrative around Asian Americans should be a "battlefield narrative" (emphasising agency and struggle) rather than a "victim's narrative"
U.S. v. Thind
Bhagat Singh Thind presented scientific evidence that Indians are Caucasian
The Court ruled that scientific classification is irrelevant; "white" is determined by common (white) public understanding
Key logic: whiteness was defined only by negation (what it is not), never positively. The Court never gave a definition of "white"
Two axes position racial groups differently:
Social value axis: inferior to superior
Citizenship axis: foreigner to insider
Positioning:
White: superior and insider
African American: inferior but insider
Asian American: superior to African Americans on social value, but permanently positioned as foreigner
This framework explains how different forms of exclusion are assigned to different groups, preventing cross-racial solidarity.
The "melting pot" idea coexisted with strict racial gatekeeping
The 1924 National Origins Act moved the U.S. from open immigration to quota-based restriction
By 1933, immigration had dropped to near zero
"Whiteness of a different colour" describes how groups like the Irish and Jewish Americans were eventually absorbed into whiteness, while others were not
Bosniak identifies four dimensions: legal status, rights, political activity, identity
The first three depend on recognition of the fourth
Volpp's point: formal citizenship (status, rights, politics) does not automatically produce the experience of belonging
This explains why citizens of colour can hold full legal status yet still be treated as outsiders
Citizenship in the U.S. was constructed through race, with whiteness codified in law
Citizenship is inherently exclusionary: defining who is "in" requires defining who is "out"
Law created differences in physical appearance by restricting biology and reproductive rights (1882 to 1952)
The Special Registration Program is a modern continuation of surveillance linked to race and citizenship
⚠️ The Page Act (1875) is often overlooked but is the first federal restrictive immigration law, and it targeted women specifically. Know the connection between gender exclusion and "bachelor societies."
⚠️ Ozawa and Thind are a pair. Ozawa establishes that Japanese people are not white; Thind establishes that even scientific evidence of Caucasian ancestry does not make someone "white." Together they show that whiteness was a moving, politically defined category.
⚠️ Racial triangulation is a key framework. Be able to draw or describe the two axes and place whites, African Americans, and Asian Americans on them.
⚠️ Multivalent citizenship (Bosniak/Volpp) is a conceptual tool for explaining why legal citizenship does not equal social belonging. The distinction between citizenship-as-status and citizenship-as-identity is likely exam material.
⚠️ The Court in Thind never defined "white." This is a critical point: whiteness was defined only by exclusion.
Q: What was the Page Act of 1875, and what were its effects on Chinese communities in the U.S.?
A: The Page Act was the first federal restrictive immigration law. It targeted Chinese women by associating them with prostitution, effectively preventing family formation. This created "bachelor societies," communities of mostly single men, which white society then used as evidence of Chinese cultural inferiority. The law was not repealed until 1972.
Q: How did the rulings in Ozawa v. U.S. and U.S. v. Thind together define (or fail to define) whiteness?
A: Ozawa established that Japanese people were not white under naturalization law. Thind went further: even though Thind presented scientific evidence that Indians were Caucasian, the Court ruled that whiteness is determined by common understanding, not science. Together, the cases show that "white" was never positively defined; it was only defined by what it was not, and that definition was controlled by white public opinion.
Q: Explain the concept of racial triangulation and describe where whites, African Americans, and Asian Americans are positioned.
A: Racial triangulation uses two axes: social value (inferior to superior) and citizenship (foreigner to insider). Whites are positioned as superior and insider. African Americans are positioned as inferior but insider. Asian Americans are positioned as superior to African Americans on social value but as permanent foreigners on the citizenship axis. This system assigns different disadvantages to different groups, making cross-racial solidarity harder.
Q: What are the four dimensions of citizenship according to Bosniak, and why does Volpp argue they are insufficient?
A: Bosniak identifies citizenship as (1) legal status, (2) rights, (3) political activity, and (4) identity. Volpp argues that the first three, status, rights, and political participation, are not enough to produce the experience of belonging. If a person's identity is not recognised by the broader society, formal citizenship does not translate into lived inclusion.
Q: What was the significance of the 1965 Immigration Act?
A: The 1965 Immigration Act (Hart-Celler Act) removed race-based restrictions that had governed U.S. immigration since the late 1800s. It created three categories for admission: refugees, family reunification, and employment. The Act was partly motivated by Cold War geopolitics, as the U.S. needed to present itself as a moral leader. Its result was a massive diversification of the country's population.
Q: What does "whiteness of a different colour" mean in the context of U.S. immigration history?
A: It refers to groups such as the Irish and Jewish Americans who were not originally considered white but who gained access to whiteness over time through legal and social processes. They were admitted under white-only laws despite initial discrimination, illustrating that the boundaries of whiteness shifted historically depending on political and social needs.
race and citizenship, immigration law U.S., naturalization history, whiteness studies, Page Act 1875, Hart-Celler Act, 1965 Immigration Act, 1790 Naturalization Act, 1924 National Origins Act, Ozawa v. United States, United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind, racial triangulation Claire Jean Kim, Mae Ngai alien indigestion, bachelor societies, Issei Nisei Sansei, multivalent citizenship Bosniak, Volpp citizenship identity, whiteness of a different colour, melting pot, national origins quota, riff raff immigration, Special Registration Program, ES 21AC Berkeley, comparative survey racial ethnic groups