<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Wikisource has original text related to this article: Naturalization Act of 1798 </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Wikisource has original text related to this article: Naturalization Act of 1798 </Td> </Tr> <P> The Naturalization Act, passed by the United States Congress on June 18, 1798 (1 Stat. 566), increased the period necessary for immigrants to become naturalized citizens in the United States from 5 to 14 years . </P> <P> Although the law was passed under the guise of protecting national security, most historians conclude it was really intended to decrease the number of voters who disagreed with the Federalist political party . At the time, most immigrants supported Thomas Jefferson and the Democratic - Republicans, the political rivals of the Federalists . This act was repealed in 1802 by the Naturalization Law of 1802 . </P>

The federalist majority passed the naturalization act of 1798 which