Plantation Act 1740

Reflecting the situation in Britain,^[5] the necessary profession of Christian faith was distinctly Protestant and specifically Anglican. The act was not intended for conscientious Roman Catholics, and they were referred to in the law as Papists. Exceptions however for non-conforming religious scruples and conscience were made, in the case of Quakers and Jews. Adherents of both faiths were allowed to dispense with the Sacramental test, with the former being allowed to affirm the oaths, and the latter being relieved of the obligation to repeat the words 'Upon the true faith of a Christian', at the end of the Oath of Abjuration required by the Act of Settlement since 1701.^[6][7]

The Plantation Act was enacted to systematize naturalization procedures in all localities as well as to encourage immigration to the American colonies.^[2] It provided a workable naturalization procedure by empowering colonial courts to administer the oath of allegiance to aliens.^[8] The act endowed colonial courts with the responsibility of deciding when alien petitioners had fulfilled the statutory requirements for imperial citizenship.

The Secretaries of Colonies were required, under penalty, to send annual lists of such persons to the Commissioners of Trade and Plantations. In proprietary colonies, the judges were appointed by colonial governors and thus represented the royal or proprietary interest. However, by delegating authority to colonial officials, naturalization became subject to the pressure of the same local interest groups that increasingly defied the governor's efforts to implement royal and proprietary instructions on other issues.^[9] Despite the penalties imposed under the act, only six Secretaries of the thirteen American Colonies and one in the West Indies submitted the mandated lists.^[4]

In England during the 17th and 18th centuries, several basic statutes applied to naturalization,^[4][10] but these statutes would not include many aliens in the colonies who were considered an integral part of the colonial communities. Over the same time period, the American provinces (except New Hampshire) passed their own naturalization laws, which granted citizenship to people living within their province. These laws were based more on local colonial interpretations of community citizenship than on stricter considerations in the mother-country. but they gave no rights beyond their borders. This situation was initially accepted as positive and workable in England, but proved to be too inconsistent with and broader imperial intentions as time passed.

Britain began withdrawing support to promote immigration to the colonies at the end of the Seven Years' War. Colonial implementation both before and after the Plantation Act tended to ignore, evade, and reshape English regulations, thus vitiating many policy decisions and generating a chaotic array of citizenship procedures.^[9] The Navigation Acts were a particular target for evasion, since they were seen as acting more as restraint on both colonial naturalization and its peoples' ability to take part fully in the economy.^[9][11] Colonial naturalization of aliens was outright forbidden in December 1773,^[11] under any conditions.^[12] A ban on royal land grants, initiated earlier in 1773, was made final in February 1774.^[9]

The colonial naturalization laws and the Plantation Act, during its nearly 30-year utilization would define British North America as a refuge and land of opportunity,^[9] The prohibition on naturalizing foreigners under the act was considered intolerable, and would be included, inter alia, in the grievances listed in the Declaration of Independence,^[9][11][13] though some consider that surprising.^[4] Despite being a British law, the Plantation Act "was the model upon which the Naturalization Act of 1790, the first U.S. naturalization act, with respect to time, oath of allegiance, process of swearing before a judge, and the like, was clearly based."^[2][3]

• Kettner, James H. The Development of American Citizenship, 1608-1870. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press 1978.