1798
In general, government policy encourages immigration. In this year an exclusionary law allows the U.S. President to deport any alien he deems dangerous.

1840-1860
The potato famine and a change in the land tenure system in Ireland spike Irish immigration to 1.8 million between 1840 and 1860, up from 250,000 in the preceding 20 years.

1850
New Bedford is called “the Portuguese capital of the United States” as Portuguese immigrants follow the center of the whaling industry from Newport, RI, to New Bedford, MA.

1862
Congress passes a law forbidding American vessels from transporting Chinese immigrants to the United States.

1880
Pauline Agassiz Shaw, pioneer educator, and other volunteers rent space at 39 North Bennet Street, establishing the North End Industrial Home to “train these unskilled masses and thus create a demand for their labor.”

1885
Shaw and her colleagues create a new corporation called North Bennet Street Industrial School (NBSIS).

1887-1937
Boston Public Schools gradually absorb North Bennet Street’s training programs.

1889
“Sloyd” method of teaching manual skills is introduced from Sweden by Shaw. Sloyd emphasizes learning a trade by creating pleasing, useful objects rather than engaging in repetitive manual exercises.

1890
From 1876 to 1890, Argentina and Brazil are the top destinations for Italian immigrants. After that, the United States becomes the most popular destination.

1891
Immigration Act of 1891 excludes from entry polygamists, persons convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude, and those suffering a loathsome or contagious disease.

1902
A new department at NBSIS called Social Service House is founded to offer immigrants an organized program of assistance.

1906
Saturday Evening Girls Club starts its 60-year career at NBSIS.

1906
Federal government becomes responsible for granting citizenship; knowledge of English is a requirement for naturalization.

1914
Power machine operating course combining academic with vocational classes begins for women at NBSIS.

1915
Caddy camps at NBSIS give North End boys a chance to work in the outdoors outside the city.

1917
Immigration Act of 1917 denies entry to immigrants from the “Asian Barred Zone.”

1921
New law limits annual immigrants from any one country to 3% of the foreign-born persons of that nationality living in the United States in 1910. (People born in the Western Hemisphere are not subject to quotas.)

1943
Chinese Exclusion Act is repealed.

1948
Displaced Persons Act allows entry to refugees from World War II. They arrive primarily from Germany, Austria, and Italy.

1960
Immigration to New England is down by 500,000 from 1940, with the largest decreases among Canadians, Irish, and Italian immigrants.

1965
Amendments to the Immigration and Nationality Act abolish nation-origin quotas and establish an overall annual visa limit.

1975
The Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act establishes a program of U.S. resettlement for Vietnamese and Cambodian refugees.

1980
A wave of Brazilian immigration to the United States begins. New York, Massachusetts, and Florida receive the greatest numbers.

1982
North Bennet Street Industrial School changes its name to North Bennet Street School (NBSS).

1982
NBSS is accredited as a post-secondary educational institution by the National Association of Trade and Technical Schools.

1985
NBSS celebrates 100 years as a leader in education and fine craftsmanship.

1986
Illegal aliens residing in the United States are allowed to apply for permanent resident status.

1990
Immigration Act of 1990 sets entry ceiling of 700,000 immigrants per year until 1994, and 675,000 per year after that.

1990
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) facilitates temporary entry on a reciprocal basis between the United States and the countries of Canada and Mexico.

2000
Immigration to New England is up dramatically since 1980 – up 500% from the Caribbean and South and Central America, and up 350% from Asia. Mexican immigrant population is one of the fastest growing in New England, but it is still quite small compared with the rest of the country. Of Mexico's 9.2 million immigrants to the U.S. in 2000, less than 1% settled in New England.

2003
NBSS collaborates with Historic New England/Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (SPNEA) to found “Craft in Context” programs, which pair a historian with an artisan to explore crafts and architecture of a particular time period.