1830 – 1847 – American “Nativists” Gain Political Power and Advocate 21-Year Residence Requirement for Naturalization

“By the 1830’s, local nativist political parties appeared in New York
and elsewhere on the Eastern seaboard, usually in close alliance with
the Whigs… In 1844, a nativist mayor was elected in New York, with
strong Whig support, Several members of Congress were claimed by the
nativists, and, in 1845 and 1847, national native-American conventions
were held to advocate a 21-year residence requirement for
naturalization, the limitation of officeholding to native Americans, the
restriction of immigration, and educational reforms.”