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Full-Text Articles in Legal History
The "Free White Person" Clause Of The Naturalization Act Of 1790 As Super-Statute, Gabriel J. Chin, Paul Finkelman
The "Free White Person" Clause Of The Naturalization Act Of 1790 As Super-Statute, Gabriel J. Chin, Paul Finkelman
William & Mary Law Review
A body of legal scholarship persuasively contends that some judicial decisions are so important that they should be considered part of the canon of constitutional law including, unquestionably, Marbury v. Madison and Brown v. Board of Education. Some decisions, while blunders, were nevertheless profoundly influential in undermining justice and the public good. Scholars call cases such as Dred Scott v. Sandford and Plessy v. Ferguson the anticanon. Recognizing the contemporary centrality of statutes, Professors William Eskridge and John Ferejohn propose that certain federal laws should be recognized as part of legal canon because of their extraordinary influence and duration. These …
Afterward: A Reply To Commentators, Gabriel J. Chin, Paul Finkelman
Afterward: A Reply To Commentators, Gabriel J. Chin, Paul Finkelman
William & Mary Law Review
Authors Gabriel J. Chin and Paul Finkelman respond to the comments on their article, The "Free White Person" Clause of the Naturalization Act of 1790 as Super-Statute.
Separate, Sovereign, And Subjugated: Native Citizenship And The 1790 Trade And Intercourse Act, Bethany Berger
Separate, Sovereign, And Subjugated: Native Citizenship And The 1790 Trade And Intercourse Act, Bethany Berger
William & Mary Law Review
In 1790, the same year Congress limited naturalization to “free white persons,” it also enacted the first Indian Trade and Intercourse Act. The Trade and Intercourse Act may have even stronger claims to “super statute” status than the Naturalization Act. Key provisions of the Trade and Intercourse Act remain in effect today, and the Act enshrined a tribal, federal, and state relationship that profoundly shapes modern law. Unlike the Naturalization Act, the Trade and Intercourse Act reflected the input of people of color: it responded to the demands of tribal nations and—to a degree—reflected tribal sovereignty. While Indigenous people could …
Attachment Issues: Assessing The Relationship Between Newcomers And The Constitution, Ashley Mantha-Hollands
Attachment Issues: Assessing The Relationship Between Newcomers And The Constitution, Ashley Mantha-Hollands
William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal
Are you attached to the principles of the U.S. Constitution? How do you prove it—do you feel it, or just know it? What role does it play in your daily life as a citizen? Ever since one of the first acts of the U.S. Congress, the Naturalization Act of 1795, applicants for citizenship have been required to demonstrate that they are “attached to the principles of the [C]onstitution of the United States.” This requirement has been at the forefront of fierce debates in U.S. constitutional history and, although it has had limited usage after WWII, it has recently been brought …