By 1789 race alone determined legal discrimination against free people of color.

Evidence

An immigrant from Canada, Hutton was elected to preside over the Los Angeles Superior Court in 1906. During the naturalization era, judges like Hutton held unfettered discretion over deciding which immigrants fit within the statutory definition of whiteness mandated by law, and therefore, authority over deciding whether petitioners like Shishim could become citizens. In 1909, when Shishim filed his petition, it was impossible to become a naturalized citizen unless you were white. From 1790 until 1952, whiteness stood as the legal dividing line between inclusion and exclusion from the range of privileges and benefits that came with formal citizenship. Whiteness and citizen were made synonymous by law, and the courts were the enforcers and the final gatekeepers. — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 178 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Race alone justified excluding free men of color from citizenship; Whiteness was the legal prerequisite for US citizenship from 1790 to 1952 — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 178

Related

• Whiteness was the legal prerequisite for US citizenship from 1790 to 1952 (similarity 0.90)
• Haiti’s constitution made whiteness a legal status that loyalists could shed (similarity 0.87)
• Racial minorities lacked any constitutional shield comparable to religious freedom (similarity 0.84)
• Whiteness by law was defined as Christian, excluding Muslims from citizenship (similarity 0.81)
• Courts constructed whiteness on shifting criteria including religion. (similarity 0.81)
• US courts redefined legal Whiteness from Caucasian to European descent by 1913. (similarity 0.81)
• Early-1900s courts rejected European-descent limits on whiteness but conceded their legal basis (similarity 0.81)
• U.S. citizenship law barred Asians until the twentieth century (similarity 0.80)
• The US Supreme Court manufactured whiteness to permanently exclude Asians from citizenship (similarity 0.78)
• Arabs had to litigate their whiteness to gain US citizenship (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Race alone justified excluding free men of color from citizenship #corroborates (0.85)
• Whiteness was the legal prerequisite for US citizenship from 1790 to 1952 #corroborates (0.60) — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 178