Signs of the times.

  Legislative History of Naturalization Before applying for naturalization, most immigrants must have spent 5 years as a permanent resident in the United States . How did we come up with the "5-year rule"? The answer is found in the legislative history of immigration to the U.S. Naturalization requirements are set out in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) , the basic body of immigration law. Before the INA was created in 1952, a variety of statutes governed immigration law. Let's take a look at the major changes to naturalization requirements. Before the Act of March 26, 1790 , naturalization was under the control of the individual states. This first federal activity established a uniform rule for naturalization by setting the residence requirement at 2 years. The Act of January 29, 1795 , repealed the 1790 act and raised the residency requirement to 5 years. It also required, for the first time, a declaration of intention to seek citizenship at least 3 years...

  Establishment of the 13 States The 13 states were officially established by the Articles of Confederation, ratified on March 1, 1781. The Articles created a loose confederation of sovereign states operating alongside a weak central government. Unlike the current power-sharing system of “ federalism ,” the Articles of Confederation bestowed most governmental powers to the states. The need for a stronger national government soon became apparent and eventually led to the Constitutional Convention in 1787 . The United States Constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation on March 4, 1789. The original 13 states recognized by the Articles of Confederation were (in chronological order): Delaware (ratified the Constitution on December 7, 1787) Pennsylvania (ratified the Constitution on December 12, 1787) New Jersey (ratified the Constitution on December 18, 1787) Georgia (ratified the Constitution on January 2, 1788) Connecticut (ratified the Constitution on January 9, 178...