Why did Americans pass the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882?
The reasons why Americans passed the Chinese Exclusion act of 1882 was because Americans believed the Chinese were bringing competition to them as they flourished into the United States and began to occupy all jobs.
Why did Congress pass the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882?
The Chinese Exclusion Act was passed because the ignorant and judgmental Americans hated to see someone else do what they did with better ethics and spirits, therefore their aggressive acts resulted in racial exclusion. This essay was written by a fellow student.
What was the purpose of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882?
Purpose of The Chinese Exclusion Act Meant to curb the influx of Chinese immigrants to the United States, particularly California, The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 suspended Chinese immigration for ten years and declared Chinese immigrants ineligible for naturalization. President Chester A. Arthur signed it into law on May 6, 1882.
What was one effect of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882?
President Chester A. Arthur vetoed this bill, saying that it was too harsh. The Act was finally signed by the president on May 6, 1882, with the period of prohibition decreased to ten years. The signing of the Chinese Exclusion Act had a strong and almost immediate impact on the number of immigrants .
What was the Immigration Act of 1882 and what did it do?
The general Immigration Act of 1882 levied a head tax of fifty cents on each immigrant and blocked (or excluded) the entry of idiots, lunatics, convicts, and persons likely to become a public charge. These national immigration laws created the need for new federal enforcement authorities.
What was the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 quizlet?
The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 prohibited all immigration of Chinese laborers. The Chinese Exclusion Act was the first law implemented and enforced to prevent all members of a specific ethnic or national group from immigrating. It also marks the beginning of immigration regulation.
Who was excluded from the immigration act?
The quota provided immigration visas to two percent of the total number of people of each nationality in the United States as of the 1890 national census. It completely excluded immigrants from Asia. In 1917, the U.S. Congress enacted the first widely restrictive immigration law.
How did the Chinese Exclusion Act affect foreign policies?
The exclusion laws had dramatic impacts on Chinese immigrants and communities. They significantly decreased the number of Chinese immigrants into the United States and forbade those who left to return.
What was the main point of the Chinese Exclusion Act?
Meant to curb the influx of Chinese immigrants to the United States—particularly California—the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 suspended Chinese immigration for ten years and declared Chinese immigrants ineligible for naturalization. President Chester A. Arthur signed it into law on May 6, 1882.
When was the Chinese Exclusion Act repealed?
In 1943, Congress passed a measure to repeal the discriminatory exclusion laws against Chinese immigrants and to establish an immigration quota for China of around 105 visas per year.
When did the US stop immigration?
153, enacted May 26, 1924), was a United States federal law that prevented immigration from Asia and set quotas on the number of immigrants from the Eastern Hemisphere....Immigration Act of 1924.EffectiveMay 26, 1924CitationsPublic lawPub.L. 68–139Statutes at Large43 Stat. 153Legislative history5 more rows
What nationality are the immigrants in 1883?
They are European, hailing from Germany, and Josef is established as one of the few amongst them that can speak English. This ultimately elevates his status amongst the group, as he is able to relay information between both parties.
What did the Immigration Act of 1882 do quizlet?
prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers. Unlike the Chinese Exclusion act, the Immigration Act of 1882 would not limit all immigration from a certain country or region. required immigrants to learn English in order to become naturalized citizens.
What impact did the Chinese immigrants have on America?
Chinese immigrants were particularly instrumental in building railroads in the American west, and as Chinese laborers grew successful in the United States, a number of them became entrepreneurs in their own right.
Why did Chinese immigrants come to America?
Chinese immigrants first flocked to the United States in the 1850s, eager to escape the economic chaos in China and to try their luck at the California gold rush. When the Gold Rush ended, Chinese Americans were considered cheap labor.
When were Chinese allowed to become American citizens?
19431943 Congress repeals all Chinese exclusion laws, grants Chinese the right to become naturalized citizens, and allows 105 Chinese to immigrate to the US each year. China and the United States become World War II allies against Japan. The U.S. Army drafts over 20 percent of Chinese men living in the United States.
What was the Homestead Act quizlet?
What is the Homestead Act? Definition: A law that gave free farmland to any male or widow who agreed to work it for five years.
How did many US labor unions treat Chinese immigrants in the 1800s?
The act blocked Chinese immigrants from becoming American citizens. How did many US labor unions treat Chinese immigrants in the 1800s? Labor unions did not allow Chinese immigrants to become members. Labor unions helped Chinese immigrants find jobs in mills and factories.
What is the Sherman Antitrust Act quizlet?
The Sherman Antitrust Act is a federal law prohibiting any contract, trust, or conspiracy in restraint of interstate or foreign trade. The Clayton Antitrust Act is an amendment passed by the U.S. Congress in 1914 that provides further clarification and substance to the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890.
What is the Dawes Act quizlet?
Dawes Act. A federal law intended to turn Native Americans into farmers and landowners by providing cooperating families with 160 acres of reservation land for farming or 320 acres for grazing.
What is the Chinese Exclusion Act?
The Chinese Exclusion Act (formally Immigration Act of 1882) was a U.S. federal law that was the first and only major federal legislation to explic...
How did the Chinese Exclusion Act affect Chinese immigrants who were already in the United States?
Chinese communities in the United States underwent dramatic change because of the Chinese Exclusion Act. Families were forced apart, and businesses...
When did the Chinese Exclusion Act end?
The Chinese Exclusion Act ended in 1943 when it was repealed with the passage of the Magnuson Act, which permitted an annual quota of 105 Chinese i...
Why was the Chinese Exclusion Act repealed?
Various factors contributed to the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1943, such as the calming of the anti-Chinese sentiment of previous decad...
How did the Chinese Exclusion Act affect America?
The Chinese Exclusion Act significantly decreased the number of Chinese immigrants in the United States: according to the U.S. national census, the...
What was the impact of the Chinese Exclusion Act?
This was followed by the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, which suspended Chinese immigration for 10 years. In 1902 Congress reenacted exclusion legislation against the Chinese. By cutting off cheap labour, exclusion helped make the huge single-crop ranches unprofitable and led to the proliferation of smaller farms growing varied crops.…
When did the Chinese Exclusion Act end?
Congress closed the gate to Chinese immigrants almost entirely by extending the Chinese Exclusion Act for another 10 years in 1902 and making the extension indefinite in 1904. Cartoon depicting U.S. Pres. Chester A. Arthur offering a bill excluding Chinese immigration to the “Western vote,” cover of Puck magazine, May 17, 1882.
How did the Chinese exclusion laws affect the US?
The exclusion laws had dramatic impacts on Chinese immigrants and communities. They significantly decreased the number of Chinese immigrants into the United States and forbade those who left to return. According to the U.S. national census in 1880, there were 105,465 Chinese in the United States, compared with 89,863 by 1900 and 61,639 by 1920. Chinese immigrants were placed under a tremendous amount of government scrutiny and were often denied entry into the country on any possible grounds. In 1910 the Angel Island Immigration Station was established in San Francisco Bay. Upon arrival there a Chinese immigrant could be detained for weeks to years before being granted or denied entry. Chinese communities underwent dramatic changes as well. Families were forced apart, and businesses were closed down. Because of the severe restrictions on female immigrants and the pattern of young men migrating alone, there emerged a largely bachelor society. Under the continuing anti-Chinese pressure, Chinatowns were established in urban cities, where the Chinese could retreat into their own cultural and social colonies.
What was the restriction against Chinese immigration?
United States: Immigration. …restriction against immigration was the Chinese Exclusion Act, passed by Congress in 1882, prohibiting for a period of 10 years the immigration of Chinese labourers into the United States. This act was both the culmination of more than a decade of agitation on the West Coast for the exclusion of….
What were the factors that contributed to the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act?
Various factors contributed to the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1943, such as the calming of the anti-Chinese sentiment of previous decades, the establishment of quota systems for immigrants of other nationalities who had rapidly increased in the United States, and the political consideration that the United States and China were allies in World War II.
How many Chinese immigrants were there in the US in 1880?
The Chinese Exclusion Act significantly decreased the number of Chinese immigrants in the United States: according to the U.S. national census, there were 105,465 in 1880, compared with 89,863 by 1900 and 61,639 by 1920.
How did the excluded Chinese use the judicial system?
The excluded Chinese did not passively accept unfair treatment but rather used all types of tools to challenge or circumvent the laws. One such tool was the American judicial system. Despite having come from a country without a litigious tradition, Chinese immigrants learned quickly to use courts as a venue to fight for their rights and won many cases in which ordinances aimed against the Chinese were declared unconstitutional by either the state or federal courts. They were aided in their legal battles by Frederick Bee, a California entrepreneur and attorney who was one of the principal American advocates of the civil rights of Chinese immigrants and who represented many of them in court from 1882 to 1892. They also protested against racial discrimination through other venues, such as the media and petitions.
What was the Chinese Exclusion Act?
The Chinese Exclusion Act was a United States federal law signed by President Chester A. Arthur on May 6, 1882, prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers. Building on the earlier Page Act of 1875 which banned Chinese women from immigrating to the United States, the Chinese Exclusion Act was the first, and remains the only, ...
Why did the Chinese Exclusion Act support the American Federation of Labor and Knights of Labor?
On the other hand, most people and unions strongly supported the Chinese Exclusion Act, including the American Federation of Labor and Knights of Labor, a labor union, who supported it because it believed that industrialists were using Chinese workers as a wedge to keep wages low. Among labor and leftist organizations, the Industrial Workers of the World were the sole exception to this pattern. The IWW openly opposed the Chinese Exclusion Act from its inception in 1905.
Why did California exclude Chinese immigrants?
In the early 1850s there was resistance to the idea of excluding Chinese migrant workers from immigration because they provided essential tax revenue which helped fill the fiscal gap of California. The Xianfeng Emperor, who ruled China at the time, was supportive of the exclusion, citing his concerns that Chinese immigration to America would lead to a loss of labor for China. But toward the end of the decade, the financial situation improved and subsequently, attempts to legislate Chinese exclusion became successful on the state level. In 1858, the California Legislature passed a law that made it illegal for any person "of the Chinese or Mongolian races" to enter the state; however, this law was struck down by an unpublished opinion of the State Supreme Court in 1862.
How did the Chinese Act affect the United States?
The act also affected the Chinese who had already settled in the United States. Any Chinese who left the United States had to obtain certifications for reentry, and the Act made Chinese immigrants permanent aliens by excluding them from U.S. citizenship. After the act's passage , Chinese men in the U.S. had little chance of ever reuniting with their wives, or of starting families in their new abodes.
What was the purpose of the official map of Chinatown 1885?
This "Official Map of Chinatown 1885" was published as part of an official report of a Special Committee established by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors "on the Condition of the Chinese Quarter". Chinese immigrant workers building the Transcontinental Railroad.
How many abstentions did the House of Representatives have to pass the immigration bill?
Congress was unable to override the veto, but passed a new bill reducing the immigration ban to ten years. The House of Representatives voted 201–37, with 51 abstentions, to pass the act.
What was the law that allowed the U.S. to suspend Chinese immigration?
The act followed the Angell Treaty of 1880, a set of revisions to the U.S.–China Burlingame Treaty of 1868 that allowed the U.S. to suspend Chinese immigration.
Background Readings
The readings provided here are intended to serve public, private, and homeschool teachers working with elementary, middle, or high school students. All curricular materials were designed to meet social studies and language arts standards.
Collections
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The Chinese Exclusion Act 1882
Suey Kee Lung (c. 1912) was one of many Chinese immigrants arrested for illegal entry into America.
Purpose of The Chinese Exclusion Act
The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, enacted to reduce the flood of Chinese immigrants to the United States, notably in California, halted Chinese immigration for 10 years and made Chinese immigrants ineligible for naturalization. On May 6, 1882, President Chester A. Arthur signed it into law.
What was the 1882 Act?
The Chinese government considered the 1882 Act to be a direct insult. However, they were in no position to influence America via their diplomatic relations. But in the early 1900s, as increasing news of discrimination reached China, local merchants lead a boycott against American goods.
When was the Chinese Exclusion Act passed?
However, as the political clout of the labor unions grew, Congress stepped in and tried to pass the first version of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1881, which aimed to prevent Chinese immigration for twenty years altogether. President Chester A. Arthur vetoed this bill, saying that it was too harsh. The Act was finally signed by the president on May 6, 1882, with the period of prohibition decreased to ten years.
What Was the Purpose of the Chinese Exclusion Act?
This was a Congressional Act which was signed by President Chester A. Arthur on May 6, 1882, which intended to ban the immigration of Chinese laborers to USA for the next ten years. Its summary is as follows:
What was the first immigration policy based on race?
The Chinese Exclusion Act was the first US immigration policy based on race. Modern United States is a pluralistic society, composed of people from different ethnic origins.
What happened to the Chinese in 1906?
On April 18, 1906, an earthquake and ensuing fire in San Francisco destroyed all citizenship records stored in City Hall. This prompted many Chinese to claim the city as their birthplace, hoping to become naturalized citizens, which would allow them to bring their families over to the US. This sudden onrush of immigrants prompted authorities to establish an immigration station specifically for the Chinese, at Angel Island in San Francisco. The real goal of the government was to deport as many immigrants back to China, by asking them difficult questions about their ancestral places. Here, immigrants were detained for weeks, months, and sometimes for even years at a stretch, as they waited for their turn.
How much was the fine for the captain of a ship that brought Chinese immigrants to the US?
The captain of a ship which knowingly brought Chinese immigrants to American shores was liable for a fine of $500 per immigrant, along with a year’s imprisonment. All US Courts were forbidden from conferring citizenship on any Chinese immigrant.
What happened in 1877?
Meanwhile, ethnic riots broke out in parts of the country, where white miners targeted the Chinese, resulting in several deaths in San Francisco in 1877, and in Denver in 1880. In this backdrop, the US and China reached an agreement, wherein China agreed to the US limiting the number of Chinese immigrants, without prohibiting them completely.
What was the immigration act of 1882?
The Immigration Act of 1882 was a United States federal law signed by President Chester A. Arthur on August 3, 1882. It imposed a head tax on noncitizens of the United States who came to American ports and restricted certain classes of people from immigrating to America , including criminals, the insane, or "any person unable to take care of him or herself." The act created what is recognized as the first federal immigration bureaucracy and laid the foundation for more regulations on immigration, such as the Immigration Act of 1891 .
What were the two major immigration laws of 1882?
This had a major effect on the immigration of Asian indentured workers and women; specifically, women presumed to be immigrating to work as prostitutes. The second was the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. This act halted all legal immigration of Chinese laborers and is considered by many to be the first major exclusionary immigration restriction on an entire nationality enacted by the United States. While both of these acts resulted from public fear of the Chinese influence in the labor market and the economy, they also derived from simple prejudice and the public perception of these immigrants' inability to assimilate into American culture.
What was the first immigration law?
On August 3, 1882, the forty-seventh United States Congress passed the Immigration Act of 1882. It is considered by many to be "first general immigration law" due to the fact that it created the guidelines of exclusion through the creation of "a new category of inadmissible aliens."
What was the Great Wave of Immigration?
During the same time that America immigration was restricting Asian (specifically Chinese) immigration, many also criticized the influx of European immigrants – later referred to as the "Great Wave" – coming to the United States. As Europe's urban industrialization was changing the demographic landscape of life in many European cities, millions looked to immigrate in order to find opportunity in America. Calling it the "most massive of all human migrations to date," scholar Otis. L. Graham reported that almost "27 million immigrants settled in the United States between 1880 and 1930". Furthermore, as explained in Debating American Immigration: 1882–Present, Roger Daniels explained how "great growth in the volume of immigration in the Gilded Age made some kind of organized administration necessary". This need and call for an "organized administration" would later be somewhat realized in the administrative outcomes of the Immigration Act of 1882.
What was the LPC clause?
At the time, this status could be assigned to any number of people including pregnant or single women, the disabled, the sick, or the poor. Daniels commented that the "'LPC clause' originally only kept out persons who were obviously unable to support themselves, but in the twentieth century the executive branch broadened it, first to keep out poor Asian Indians and Mexicans and then to keep out poor people generally." The Immigration Act of 1882 was the first piece of immigration regulation to contain this kind of comprehensive subjective restriction, and it would continue on into contemporary conversations and debates regarding immigration.
Chinese Immigration in America
Geary Act of 1892
- Proposed by California congressman Thomas J. Geary, the Geary Act went into effect on May 5, 1892. It reinforced and extended the Chinese Exclusion Act’s ban on Chinese immigration for an additional ten years. It also required Chinese residents in the United States to carry special documentation—certificates of residence—from the Internal Revenue Service. Immigrants who …
Impact of Chinese Exclusion Act
- The Supreme Court upheld the Geary Act in Fong Yue Ting v. United Statesin 1893, and in 1902 Chinese immigration was made permanently illegal. The legislation proved very effective, and the Chinese population in the United States sharply declined. American experience with Chinese exclusion spurred later movements for immigration restriction against other "undesirable" group…
Sources
- Chinese Immigrants and the Gold Rush. PBS. Chinese Immigration and the Chinese Exclusion Acts. The State Department.
Overview
The Chinese Exclusion Act was a United States federal law signed by President Chester A. Arthur on May 6, 1882, prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers for 10 years. The law excluded merchants, teachers, students, travelers, and diplomats. Building on the earlier Page Act of 1875, which banned Chinese women from migrating to the United States, the Chinese Exclusion Act was th…
Background
The first significant Chinese immigration to North America began with the California Gold Rush of 1848–1855 and it continued with subsequent large labor projects, such as the building of the First Transcontinental Railroad. During the early stages of the gold rush, when surface gold was plentiful, the Chinese were tolerated by white people, if not well received. However, as gold became hard…
Content
For the first time, federal law proscribed entry of an ethnic working group on the premise that it endangered the good order of certain localities. (The earlier Page Act of 1875 had prohibited immigration of Asian forced laborers and sex workers, and the Naturalization Act of 1790 prohibited naturalization of non-white subjects.) The act excluded Chinese laborers, meaning "skilled and unskilled laborers an…
The "Driving Out" period
Following the passing of the Chinese Exclusion Act, a period known as the "Driving Out" era was born. In this period, anti-Chinese Americans physically forced Chinese communities to flee to other areas. Large scale violence in Western states included The Rock Springs Chinese Massacre (1885) and the Hells Canyon massacre (1887).
The massacre was named for the town where it took place, Rock Springs, Wyoming, in Sweetwat…
Impact on education in the U.S.
Recruitment of foreign students to US colleges and universities was an important component in the expansion of American influence. International education programs allowed students to learn from the examples provided at elite universities and to bring their newfound skill sets back to their home countries. As such, international education has historically been seen as a vehicle for improving diplomatic relations and promoting trade. The US Exclusion Act, however, forced Chin…
Repeal and status
The Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed by the 1943 Magnuson Act when China had become an ally of the U.S. against Japan in World War II, as the US needed to embody an image of fairness and justice. The Magnuson Act permitted Chinese nationals already residing in the country to become naturalized citizens and stop hiding from the threat of deportation. The act also allowed Chinese people to send remittances to people of Chinese descent living in mainland China, Maca…
See also
• Anti-Chinese legislation in the United States
• Chinese Confession Program
• The Chinese Exclusion Act, a 2018 television documentary film from PBS
• Anti-Chinese sentiment
Further reading
• Anderson, David L. (1978). "The Diplomacy of Discrimination: Chinese Exclusion, 1876-1882". California History. 57 (1): 32–45. doi:10.2307/25157814. JSTOR 25157814.
• Chan, Sucheng, ed. (1991). Entry Denied: Exclusion and the Chinese Community in America, 1882–1943. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. ISBN 978-0877227984.