President Coolidge stands with four Osage Indians at a White House ceremony.
On this day in 1924, President Calvin Coolidge signed into
law the Indian Citizenship Act, which granted citizenship
to all Native Americans born in the United States, many
of whom had served in the armed forces during World
War I.
While the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States
Constitution defines a citizen as any persons born in
the United States and subject to its laws and jurisdiction,
the amendment had previously been interpreted by the
courts not to apply to Native peoples.
Calvin Coolidge (July 4, 1872 – January 5, 1933)
