Columbus reaches the Caribbean, initiating sustained contact between the Old and New Worlds and reshaping the future of the continent’s peoples.
The first permanent English settlement is established in Virginia, beginning centuries of colonial migration and settlement.
The Mayflower Compact establishes a self-governing colony, an early seed of American civic identity.
Thirteen colonies declare a new nation founded on the idea that governments derive their power from the consent of the governed.
A framework of government is drafted, defining the structure of the republic and the beginnings of national citizenship.
The first federal law on citizenship limits naturalization to “free white persons,” an early and consequential definition of belonging.
The nation doubles in size, absorbing vast lands and diverse peoples and accelerating westward settlement.
Citizenship is guaranteed to all persons born or naturalized in the United States, transforming the legal meaning of native-born.
Federal policy divides tribal lands into individual allotments, profoundly affecting Native American nations and identity.
Citizenship is extended to all Native Americans born in the United States, closing a long-standing legal exclusion.
National-origin quotas are abolished, reshaping the demographic future of the country.
Birthright citizenship, immigration, and identity remain live debates — the question of what it means to be native is far from settled.
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