RSS Feed
News
Doc of the Day: The Chinese Exclusion Act
05/06/10
On May 6, 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act was signed into law by President Chester B. Arthur. It was the first federal law banning immigration to the United States by members of a specific racial or ethnic group.
More than 150,000 Chinese laborers had arrived on the West Coast between 1850 and 1890. They contributed their talents and energies to such endeavors as gold mining, timber cutting, and building the Transcontinental Railroad. By the 1880s, however, Chinese immigrants faced rising levels of animosity and violence from white workers, who resented the competition for jobs and wages. The Chinese Exclusion Act remained in place until 1943.
Read the CHINESE EXCLUSION ACT