Contemporary Influences
The 14th Amendment, granting citizenship to everyone born in the United States, raised questions about the legal status of Native Americans. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, European immigration increased, sparking changes in naturalization procedures. The 1919 suffrage amendment for women, also was part of the Progressive attempt to expand citizenship and suffrage.
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By the early 1900s, many white people in the US believed Indians should become citizens. However, benevolent organizations, newspapers, and Congress debated how and when. Prevailing racism influenced these discussions. By 1824, European immigrants could become naturalized citizens by filing papers renouncing allegiance to their former country and intention to become citizens, then filing the final papers in a court house, and taking an oath of allegiance. By contrast, Indians had to prove competency and manage their affairs over 25 years, accept allotment of land, and prove "civilization". As European immigration increased, laws were passed requiring European immigrants to know English and pass physical exams before becoming citizens.
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Some white politicians, like Congressmen Dawes and Snyder, called for qualified citizenship for Indians. Some Indians individually and in organizations such as the Society of American Indians argued the justice of citizenship, providing equal rights. Others, like Iroquois Confederacy members who wrote numerous letters to Congress, opposed US citizenship, citing treaty-guaranteed sovereignty. Some non-Indians were reluctant to grant citizenship to Indians. Minnesotan Alexander Ramsey claimed the requirement to sever tribal ties (to prove civilization) actually created the "worst kind" of Indians, the "rovers".
The Indians aren't allowed to have a voice in state affairs because they aren't voters. All they [the politicians] have to do out there is to look out for the interests of the Indians. Just why the Indians shouldn't vote is something I can't understand. One of the Indians went over to Old Town once to see some official in the city hall about voting. I don't know just what position that official had over there, but he said to the Indian, 'We don't want you people over here. You have your own elections over on the island, and if you want to vote, go over there.'
- Henry Mitchell, Indian canoe maker in Maine