The Declaration of Independence was a series of grievances the colonists enumerated against King George III. The colonists wrote the document explaining why they were breaking away. There are a few line items having to do with colonial dissatisfaction with migration policies. (1/12)
Take this clause: "He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands." (2/12)
Although they were in a structure of imperial federalism with the metropole in Britain and the satellite colonies in America, the colonies had enjoyed putative control over migration policies. The British North American mainland colonies established migration & citizenship policies. (3/12)
One imperative from the colonists, certainly not Native Americans whose land was being taken and who were being killed by communicable diseases and wars, was to encourage as much voluntary migration as possible to work the land, and occupy and defend land from displaced Native people. (4/12)
In addition to giving away free land for migrating, tax holidays, promising mild government and religious toleration, fast + easy naturalization was an essential recruitment tool.
The colonies competed for migrants, each trying to dangle more incentives as neighboring colonies. (5/12)
Local control of naturalization which promised to put non-English migrants on the same legal plane as citizens was an essential migration inducement. One could not own land or pass it on to heirs without citizenship. Other political rights like running for public office was also tied to land (6/12)
When the King and Parliament tried to restrict colonies' ability to quickly and easily naturalize foreigners, the colonist were angered. That's the origin of "He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; (7/12)
