Naturalization Act of 1906

Naturalization Act of 1906

Long title	A Bill to Establish a Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization, and to Provide for the Naturalization of Aliens throughout the United States
Enacted by	the 59th United States Congress
Effective	September 27, 1906
Citations
Public law	Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 59–338, Chap. 3592
Statutes at Large	34 Stat. 596
Codification
Acts amended	Naturalization Act of 1870
Legislative history
Introduced in the House as H.R. 15442 by Rep. Benjamin Franklin Howell (R-NJ) on February 22, 1906[1] Committee consideration by United States House Committee on Immigration and Naturalization Passed the House on June 5, 1906  Passed the Senate on June 27, 1906  Reported by the joint conference committee on June 28, 1906; agreed to by the Senate on June 29, 1906  and by the House on June 29, 1906  Signed into law by President Theodore Roosevelt on June 29, 1906

The Naturalization Act of 1906 was an act of the United States Congress signed into law by Theodore Roosevelt that revised the Naturalization Act of 1870 and required immigrants to learn English in order to become naturalized citizens. The bill was passed on June 29, 1906, and took effect September 27, 1906. It was repealed and replaced by the Nationality Act of 1940. It was modified by the Immigration Act of 1990.

The legislation established the federal government as the arbiter of naturalization policy. It created the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization, which provided for the first uniform naturalization laws in the country. Prior to 1906, an alien could be naturalized in any U.S. "court of record". State-level naturalization courts managed proceedings and had varying standards across the country.^[2] After September 26, 1906, naturalization could only be done in courts having a seal and a clerk, and exerting universal competence.