The use of the words' white persons' clearly indicates the intention of Congress to maintain a line of demarcation between races, and to extend the privilege of naturalization only to those of that race which is predominant in this country

For example, in 1908, the District Court in Washington ruled that Buntaro Kumagai, a Japanese alien who had served honorably in the US Army, was ineligible for citizenship

—limiting the application of § 2166 authorizing the naturalization of aliens honorably discharged from military service to "free, white persons and to aliens of African nativity, and to persons of African descent," under § 2169, thereby denying Kumagai's petition for naturalization due to Japanese ancestry, though he was an enlisted soldier in the regular army of the United …

—a District Court Judge (using Saito as precedent), “having no objection to his citizenship on personal grounds,” reluctantly denied Buntaro Kumagai' s—by the judge' s account, an “educated Japanese gentleman” and an “honorably discharged” veteran formerly “enlisted as a soldier in the regular army of United States”—application for naturalized citizenship “on the …

—repeated the same argument that, because Asians were not “white,” they were barred under the racially restrictive provision of section 2169.

"The general policy of our Government has been to limit the privilege of naturalization to white people, the only distinct departure from this policy being soon after the close of the Civil War, when, in view of the peculiar situation of inhabitants of this country of African descent, the laws were amended so as to permit the naturalization of Africans and aliens of African …

Modern Review 35 (1924): 262–68; Taraknath Das, “American Naturalization Law Is Against the Chinese, Japanese and Hindustanees,” Modern Review 39 (1926): 349–50; Taraknath Das, Foreign Policy in the Far East (New York: Longmans, Green, 1936); Taraknath Das, “People of India and US Citizenship,” India Today (August 1941): 3–4. 12.

An act of Congress provides for the naturalization of aliens who are free white persons, and of aliens of African nativity, and of persons of African descent.

A decade later this attitude must have seemed unduly harsh, for another amendment was passed granting naturalization rights to all veterans of World War I, regardless of race, provided they fulfilled certain (l) Act of July 17, 1862, Section 21, Revised Statutes No. 2166.

The court held that Japanese, like the Chinese, belong to the Mongolian race, and so are not entitled to naturalization, not being included within the term "white persons" in Rev. Stat., sec. 2169.

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