Racial minorities lacked any constitutional shield comparable to religious freedom

Evidence

During the naturalization era, immigrants seeking citizenship were bound by the prerequisite of being found to be “free white persons” by a civil court. However, what defined whiteness was not allowed to extend beyond Christianity, and especially Protestantism, and Islam stood as its rival and thus was considered irreconcilable with whiteness. Therefore, up until 1944, Muslim identity precluded one from being deemed white by law and therefore eligible for citizenship. Furthermore, the Naturalization Act of 1790 also curbed the migration of Muslims to the United States, as they were largely aware of the opposition their religious identity would spur at ports of entry like Ellis Island. — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 150 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim
• XREF: connects to: Race alone justified excluding free men of color from citizenship; Enlightenment universalism made racial exclusion the sole unjustifiable barrier to free-colored citizenship; Whiteness by law was defined as Christian, excluding Muslims from citizenship — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 150 (+1 more)

Related

• Whiteness by law was defined as Christian, excluding Muslims from citizenship (similarity 0.87)
• By 1789 race alone determined legal discrimination against free people of color. (similarity 0.84)
• Haiti’s constitution made whiteness a legal status that loyalists could shed (similarity 0.83)
• Whiteness was the legal prerequisite for US citizenship from 1790 to 1952 (similarity 0.83)
• Islam was not associated with whiteness, blocking Muslim naturalization (similarity 0.82)
• The US Constitution protected religious minorities but offered nonwhite races no shield against discrimination. (similarity 0.81)
• Courts constructed whiteness on shifting criteria including religion. (similarity 0.80)
• Courts treated Islam, not skin color alone, as the disqualifying factor for citizenship (similarity 0.80)
• Muslim immigrants preferred strained whiteness arguments over an easier Blackness claim (similarity 0.80)
• Islamic identity rendered immigrants non-white in citizenship cases regardless of legal test (similarity 0.80)
• Legal whiteness did not confer social privileges of whiteness (similarity 0.80)
• Islam functionally disqualified citizenship applicants from whiteness regardless of method (similarity 0.80)
• Denying citizenship on religious grounds helped construct American whiteness. (similarity 0.79)
• Citizenship in America has historically been tied to whiteness and Christianity (similarity 0.79)
• Religious identity, once racialized, bars citizens from full dignitary benefits (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Race alone justified excluding free men of color from citizenship #corroborates (0.80)
• Enlightenment universalism made racial exclusion the sole unjustifiable barrier to free-colored citizenship #qualifies (0.60)
• Whiteness by law was defined as Christian, excluding Muslims from citizenship #exemplifies (0.50) — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 150