Following the United States' entry into World War I, non-naturalized citizens, or "enemy aliens" by definition, were required to register with U. S. authorities in the interest of national security. This included all non-citizen males over the age of 14 and their wives, even those women born in the United States but married to non-citizens. The registration focused primarily on non-citizen German residents, but included Italians and other nationalities, as well. Registrants also included school children, divinity students, former U.S. soldiers and sailors, Roman Catholic nuns, the elderly, and the infirm. According to the National Archives, most of these records were destroyed by authorization of Congress in the 1920s.
In this image individuals register at police headquarters in downtown Seattle. The deadline for registration was February 9, 1918.
Caption information source: The Seattle Daily Times, February 4, 1918, p. 1 Caption information also derived from captions written by Post-Intelligencer staff and attached to the back of the photograph.
ID Number: 2000.107.233.10.10
Date: 1918
Physical Description: 1 photographic print : b&w ; 8 x 10 in.
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant.
