As waves of immigrants arrived in the United States they brought with them their languages, dialects, and expressions, which have enriched "American English."
You may not realize just how many American English words have Spanish origins. Can you find the words that come from Spanish?
The
14th Amendment to the Constitution endows African American with citizenship.
1870
The
15th Amendment of the Constitution provides African-American males with
the right to vote.
1885
Congress
bans the admission of contract laborers.
1896
Plessy v. Ferguson:
Supreme Court ruling that “separate but equal” accommodations
for African Americans and whites were Constitutional; decision allows
legalized segregation.
1929
Congress
makes annual immigration quotas permanent.
1941
President
Roosevelt signs Executive Order 8802: forbids discrimination in federal
hiring, job-training programs, and defense industries.
1948
The
United States admits persons fleeing persecution in their native lands;
allowing 205,000 refugees to enter within two years.
1952
Immigration
and Nationality Act: individuals of all races eligible for naturalization;
reaffirms national origins quota system, limits immigration from Eastern
Hemisphere; establishes preferences for skilled workers and relatives
of U.S. citizens and permanent resident aliens; and tightens security
and screening standards and procedures
1953
Congress
amends 1948 refugee policy to allow for the admission of 200,000 more
refugees
1954
Brown
v. Topeka Board of Education: Supreme Court rules that “separate
but equal” educational facilities were unconstitutional.
1964
The
Civil Rights Acts ensures voting rights; prohibits housing discrimination.
1980
The
Refugee Act redefines criteria and procedures for admitting refugees.
1986
Immigration
Reform and Control Act (IRCA) legalizes illegal aliens residing in the
U.S. unlawfully since 1982
1808
Congress bans
the importation of slaves but slavery in the United States continues
to grow.
1819
Congress establishes
reporting on immigration.
1820
The
Compromise of 1820 admits Maine and Missouri into the Union as a free
and a slave state, respectively. This legislation also prohibited slavery
in territories north of Missouri.
1861
Abraham Lincoln
takes the presidential oath of office; Southern Confederacy ratifies
a new Constitution, elects Jefferson Davis as first Confederate president;
Civil War begins.
1862
The
Union Army permits black men to enlist as laborers, cooks, teamsters,
and servants.
1863
The Emancipation
Proclamation abolishes slavery, permits African American men to join
the Union Army.
1864
Congress
legalizes the importation of contract laborers.
