Chinese Exclusion Act

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The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was drafted, debated, and voted on in the early months of the first session of the Forty-seventh Congress. John F. Miller, a Republican from California serving his first term, introduced the bill in the Senate. It quickly passed in that chamber and then in the House. Following its veto by President Chester Arthur, the bill was amended to meet the president's objections, passed by the Senate and House again, and signed into law. The speedy passage of the bill and efficient response to the president's veto were the product of two prior developments contributing to the content of the act.

First, in prior sessions of Congress, the issue of Chinese exclusion was explored and debated in depth. In 1876 Congress had appointed a joint special committee to study Chinese immigration and dispatched its members to California to investigate the “Chinese question.” Aaron A. Sargent, Republican Senator from California, authored the committee's report; its findings supported the campaign for Chinese exclusion. Second, treaty arrangements between the United States and China were changed in 1880 to permit the legislation. James B. Angell, a minister to China during the Hayes administration, headed the commission that negotiated amendments to existing treaties. The resulting Angell Treaty allowed the United States to legislate limits on Chinese immigration.