Whiteness was the legal prerequisite for US citizenship from 1790 to 1952

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

Categorization

• XREF: This is the naturalization/‘race’ origin case the reader’s guiding question targets — bridges to Selod’s surveillance of Muslim bodies and Ernst’s whiteness psychology. — connects to: By 1789 race alone determined legal discrimination against free people of color.; MAGA functioned as a racial plea tied to whiteness as legal citizenship touchstone — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 63; Citizenship in America has historically been tied to whiteness and Christianity (+7 more)
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 178

Broader Connections

• Citizenship in America has historically been tied to whiteness and Christianity #expands (0.75)
• Muslims were barred from US citizenship from 1790 to 1944 #expands (0.70) — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 147
• Courts constructed whiteness on shifting criteria including religion. #expands (0.65) — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 183
• Whiteness links beauty with citizenship and uncontested belonging. #expands (0.60)
• Whiteness was defined through exclusion of non-black immigrant groups too. #expands (0.60)
• The 1793 emancipation offered radical transracial citizenship far ahead of its era #qualifies (0.50)