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A compilation of standards and legislative decisions that factor into the process of naturalization for non-citizens of the United States. The document also includes questions asked to naturalization applicants with notable incorrect answers.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-05-19
Theodore Roosevelt’s secretary explains that Roosevelt cannot help W. S. Boyd with his naturalization application due to the stringent law. It is unlikely that the law will be amended soon; if it is, it will be even stricter.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-11-11
President Roosevelt cannot visit Plymouth as Arthur Lord has asked. He agrees with Senator Lodge about special inspectors to enforce naturalization laws not being chosen from the civil service applicants. Roosevelt understands if Lodge is attacked in the papers for his stance on the merger bill and praises him for his efforts.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-07-04
President Roosevelt tells Lyman Abbott that he agrees with his position about the naturalization of the Japanese in Hawaii.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-01-18
Senator Lodge’s friend Arthur Lord, president of the Plymouth Pilgrim Society, asked Lodge to ask President Roosevelt if he might visit Plymouth while he is in Massachusetts to visit Provincetown. Lodge also tells Roosevelt about a journal he is reading about Andrew Hamilton’s travels through the northern colonies in 1744. Lodge thinks it is a good read and recommends it to Roosevelt. Lodge would like to speak with Roosevelt about the appointment of inspectors to enforce naturalization laws. Lodge opposes nominating from civil service lists, as the people on those lists lack the specialized training and qualities required to do the job. Finally, Lodge expects to be attacked in the newspapers for his stance on the merger bill.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-07-03
Henry Cabot Lodge is sorry that President Roosevelt does not agree with him about immigration but believes Roosevelt is likely right on the matter. Lodge has read Roosevelt’s letter to Nelson Appleton Miles and shares his views on the matter. Lodge has looked over the papers of the “Agricultural Implement people” and comments on lumber, cattle, manufacturing, and tariffs in the industry. Lodge has enclosed a letter regarding a civil service matter that he thinks should be looked into. Lodge praises Robert Bacon.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-08-18
William H. Moody explains that the law does not allow for the naturalization of Japanese immigrants.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-07-19
Ambassador Griscom has researched the Japanese law and customs in reference to foreigners living in Japan. The only important restriction on foreigners living in Japan is that they are denied the “right to own land in fee simple.” Foreigners are well treated and as far as Griscom is aware, there has not been a case where a foreigner has been denied justice in the Japanese Courts. While there is some amount of anti-foreign sentiment, the Japanese Government is quick to suppress such feelings when it is within their power to do so.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-06-29
George Kennan objects to the language in a California resolution that denies naturalization to Japanese immigrants based on their “disposition and characteristics,” which the resolution says make them “a wholly undesirable and unsatisfactory” addition to the country. It is an insult to Japan that this language excludes their people, while the United States continues to admit “the lowest, most ignorant, most degraded classes from southeastern Europe” and allows them to become citizens. Kennan intends to write about this subject in The Outlook.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-04-01
Ambassador to Japan Griscom outlines the conditions under which Japan allows foreigners to be naturalized.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-03-29
George Bethune Adams and George Chandler Holt respond to William Hapin and Edward Lauterbach’s suggestion that Adams and Holt increase their staff and duties. Adams and Holt cannot follow this suggestion because at the present time the location is insufficient for expansion.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-06-08