United States v. Wong Kim Ark 1898

Was a man born in San Francisco to Chinese parents a citizen by birth?

169 U.S. 649 (1898)Citizenship and immigration

The question: Was a man born in San Francisco to Chinese parents a citizen by birth?
What the Court held: Yes. The Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause made him a citizen by birth on United States soil.
The vote: 6–2
Era: The Gilded Age
Read the opinion: 169 U.S. 649 (1898), full text

This page summarizes the Court’s judgment in neutral terms. The opinion, concurrences and dissents are the authority; read them for the reasoning.

Where the question came from. The events behind it.

1882

Chinese Exclusion Act

May 6, 1882 · Restriction of rights

Suspends immigration of Chinese laborers and bars Chinese immigrants from naturalization. Extended in 1892 and made permanent in 1902; repealed in 1943.

Source: National Archives