We Do Not Want Our Girls To Marry Foreigners Summary

How does one define who is “American?” The term “American” is referred to a person who is a native or citizen of the United States. For hundreds of years, individuals from all over the world came to the United States of America to live a new and improved life. However, the influx of these international individuals caused uproar among the citizens of the United States, which would redefine the identity of an American citizen both legally and culturally.

The legal aspect of American citizenship plays a major role on how the country and the people view the identity of who is “American.” The process by which people can become citizens of the United States was first defined when Congress ratified the Nationalization Act of 1790. The Nationalization

Act of 1790 restricted citizenship to “any alien, being a free white person”, being of good character, and has resided in the United States for two years. The act also stated that any children born in the United States of those who are naturalized would automatically be considered as citizens (1790 Nationalization Act). The emphasis on “free white person” in the document prevented people of color and women to become citizens, which brought upon huge controversies about the identity of an American citizen. In the video, Race: Power of an Illusion, Episode 3: The House We Live in, it shows how immigrants tried to live up to the “white” expectations and social. According to the video, a Japanese businessman Takao Ozawa petitioned the Supreme Court for naturalization in 1922. The Supreme Court ruled that Ozawa was “not white within the meaning of the statute, and therefore not eligible to citizenship.” Although Ozawa had white skin, learned fluent English, and raised his family in an typical American lifestyle, he was still of Japanese decent and not white therefore not allowed to become an American citizen (Race: Power of an Illusion). The legal aspect of the American identity greatly influenced how the country and its people viewed what it means to be “American,” especially towards the increasing number of immigrants.
The cultural attitude of the citizens of the United States and immigrants is also important when defining who is fit to be an “American.” Although people of color and women were eventually granted citizenship in the United States, there was still a great prejudice against foreign immigrants no matter what color they were.

In Ann Marie Nicolosi’s article, “We Do Not Want Our Girls to Marry Foreigners”, she examines the Expatriation Act of 1907. She explains that the Expatriation Law of 1907 “codified derivative citizenship” for American women, meaning that a woman’s citizenship was defined by her husband’s citizenship. For example, if a woman with an American citizenship were to marry a Japanese or French man, her American citizenship would be revoked (Nicolosi 1). She states that the Expatriation Law of 107 used women’s citizenship “as a strategy of immigration restriction”, which prevented tampering with the genetic white population in America and prevent the increase of foreigners to become American citizens (17). In the article, “Is This a White Country, or What?” Lillian Rubin discusses how race and the economy are factors on the identity of an American. Rubin states that American citizens worry about immigrants, “fearing that they would corrupt our society, dilute our culture, and debase our values (Rubin 119).” The fear of cultural diversity and the growing industrial diversity would put Americans “at a disadvantage” and create a fine line between the immigrants and the American

citizens.
Although legally and culturally the past generations of American citizens resisted the incoming immigrants, the present country of the United States has redefined the idea of American citizenship. Today, when one thinks of what it means to become an American the right to vote in a democracy automatically pops into ones head. According to the short article, “Why Become a Citizen?” it lists reasons to encourage one become an American citizen, unlike the past when the government tried to prevent immigrants from becoming citizens (visalaw.com). The encouragement of being American citizen changed the aspect of how immigrants also viewed what an American citizen means to them. America was a free country that let them become apart and build a relationship to the country by having rights and the freedom to be an individual. The cultural attitude also changed in that people acknowledge and accept cultural diversity among that country. However, although there is an acceptance, there are still prejudices against immigrants, such as economic means immigrants taking over jobs leaving American unemployed.
The definition of who is “American” changed gradually overtime both legally and culturally. The first act of nationalization in 1790 stated that only a “free white person” could file for citizenship. This would set the course of many controversies and debates legally and culturally among immigrants and the people of the nation. Regardless of controversies, immigrants and citizens alike believed that the identity of an American was having the freedom to be oneself and having rights in the country, redefining the meaning of “American”.