A+E Networks. Claiming his right to the English throne, William, duke of Normandy, invades England at Pevensey on Britainâs southeast coast. His subsequent defeat of King Harold II at the Battle of Hastings marked the beginning of a new era in British history.William was the illegitimate son of Robert I, duke of Normandy, by his concubine Arlette, a tannerâs daughter from the town of Falaise.illiam then marched on London and received the cityâs submission. On Christmas Day, 1066, William the Conqueror was crowned the first Norman king of England, in Westminster Abbey, and the Anglo-Saxon phase of English history came to an end.
18th century [edit]. The United States Constitution was adopted on September 17, 1787. Article I, section 8, clause 4 of the Constitution expressly gives the United States Congress the power to establish a uniform rule of naturalization.
27-30, enacted April 9, 1866, was the first United States federal law to define US citizenship and affirm that all citizens are equally protected by the law. It was mainly intended to protect the civil rights of Africans born in or brought to America, in the wake of the American Civil War.This legislation was enacted by Congress in 1865 but vetoed by President Andrew Johnson. In April 1866 Congress again passed the bill.he activities of insurgent groups such as the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) undermined the act; and it failed to immediately secure the civil rights of African Americans. Since 1866 it has been illegal in the U.S. to discriminate in jobs and housing on the basis of race.