Citizenship Keywords for Chronicling America

Related Terms: foreigner, alien, native-born

Definitions: foreign by birth

Contextual Considerations, or “How this Term was Used”:  The first known use of “foreign-born” according to Merriam-Webster was in 1692. The term can commonly be found in newspaper reports on demographics, especially when presenting census results, election results, and studies of specific geographic locations. It was also widely used, especially in the early 20th century, when discussing the idea of “Americanization” and the assimilation of immigrants. It is often found in newspaper articles in contrast to the term “native-born.”

Examples from Chronicling America:  

“Foreign Born” in The Bee (Earlington, KY), 21 Jan. 1897. Chronicling America Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.  

“Foreign Born” in The Washington Times (Washington, DC), 31 Jul. 1901. Chronicling America Historic Newspapers. Lib. of. Congress.

“Foreign Born” in New-York Tribune (New York, NY), 18 Jan. 1920. Chronicling America Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.

“Foreign Born” in Omaha Daily Bee (Omaha, NE), 25 Jul. 1920. Chronicling America Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.

OCR Considerations or “How the Computer Sees It”: While the term is listed in dictionaries as “foreign-born”, most results in Chronicling America seem to be for the term written as “foreign born” without the hyphen. 

Related Terms: immigrant, foreigner, alien, foreign-born, native

Definitions: Adjective: designating a person born in a particular place, as distinguished from an immigrant or incomer; noun: a person born in a particular place, as distinguished from an immigrant or incomer.

Contextual Considerations, or “How this Term was Used”:  First used as an adjective in this sense in 1645 and as a noun in 1814 according to the OED. The term can commonly be found in newspaper reports on demographics, especially when presenting census results, election results, and studies of specific geographic locations. It was also widely used, especially in the early 20th century, when discussing the idea of “Americanization” and the assimilation of immigrants. It is often found in newspaper articles in contrast to the term “foreign-born.”

Examples from Chronicling America: 

“Native Born” in The Ohio Democrat (New Philadelphia, OH), 01 Aug. 1844. Chronicling America Historic American Newspapers. Lib of Congress.  

“Native Born” in Rock Island Daily Argus (Rock Island, IL), 25 Jun. 1892. Chronicling America Historic American Newspapers. Lib of Congress. 

“Native Born” in Delaware Gazette and State Journal (Wilmington, Del.), 25 Jul. 1901. Chronicling America Historic American Newspapers. Lib of Congress. 

“Native Born” in Tonopah Daily Bonanza (Tonopah, NV), 24 Dec. 1915. Chronicling America Historic American Newspapers. Lib of Congress.  

“Native Born” in The Churchill County Standard (Fallon, NV), 19 Sep. 1917. Chronicling America Historic American Newspapers. Lib of Congress. 

OCR Considerations or "How the Computer Sees It": While the term is listed in dictionaries as "native-born," most results in Chronicling America seem to be for the term written as "foreign born" without the hyphen. 

Related Terms: naturalized, naturalization

Definitions: A person who was not born in a particular country but has become a citizen of that country through a legal, established process

Contextual Considerations, or “How this Term was Used”:  According to the OED, the term “naturalized” as an adjective has been used as far back as the 1500s and has been used in mostly the same form to the present day.

Examples from Chronicling America:  

“Naturalized citizen” in Arizona Range News (Willcox, Cochise County, A.T. [Ariz.]), September 20, 1912. Chronicling America Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.  

“Naturalized citizen” in Smyrna Times (Smyrna, Del.), 24 Dec. 1963. Chronicling America Historic American Newspapers. Lib of Congress.  

Related Terms: noncitizen

Definitions: Noun: a person who is not a citizen (of a particular city or country); adjective: designating a person who is not a citizen

Contextual Considerations, or “How this Term was Used”:  The earliest known use of the word “non-citizen” is in the 1850s. OED’s earliest evidence for “non-citizen” is in 1850 in the U.S. Senate proceedings in the Fugitive Slave Bill.  

Examples from Chronicling America: 

“Non-citizen” in The Oglala Light (Pine Ridge, S.D.), 01 Feb. 1918. Chronicling America Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. 

“Non-citizen” in Bradley Beam (Bradley Field [Windsor Locks], Conn.), 14 Oct. 1944. Chronicling America Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.  

“Non-citizen” in Los Angeles Daily Herald (Los Angeles, Calif.), 26 Nov. 1875. Chronicling America Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.  

“Noncitizen” in Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), 02 June 1958. Chronicling America Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. 

“Noncitizen” in The Hawaiian Star (Honolulu [Oahu]), 01 April 1909. Chronicling America Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.  

Related Terms: repatriate, repatriated

Definitions: Noun: a person who has returned to his or her native country; verb: to restore (a person) to his or her native country

Contextual Considerations, or “How this Term was Used”:  The earliest known use of the noun “repatriate” was in the 1890s. OED’s earliest evidence for “repatriate” is from 1890 in the Times (London). It is also recorded as a verb from the early 1600s.  

Examples from Chronicling America: 

“Repatriation” in Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), 12 June 1957. Chronicling America Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.  

“Repatriation” in Fitzgerald Enterprise (Fitzgerald, Ga.), 07 March 1907. Chronicling America Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.  

“Repatriation” in New Britain Herald (New Britain, Conn.), 07 Jan. 1920. Chronicling America Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.  

“Repatriation” in The Seattle Republican (Seattle, Wash.), 20 July 1906. Chronicling America Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.