Which of the following statements about nineteenth-century Chinese immigrants
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The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was the first significant law restricting immigration into the United States. Many Americans on the West Coast attributed declining wages and economic ills to Chinese workers. Although the Chinese composed only 0.002 percent of the nation's population, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act to placate worker demands and assuage concerns about maintaining white "racial purity." Show
Chinese Immigration in AmericaThe Opium Wars (1839-42, 1856-60) of the mid-nineteenth century between Great Britain and China left China heavily in debt. Additionally, floods and drought contributed to an exodus of peasants from their farms, and many left the country to find work. When gold was discovered in the Sacramento Valley of California in 1848, a large uptick in Chinese immigrants entered the United States to join the California Gold Rush. Following an 1852 crop failure in China, over 20,000 Chinese immigrants came through the custom house in San Francisco (up from 2,716 the previous year) looking for work. Violence soon broke out between white miners and the new arrivals, much of it racially charged. In May 1852, California imposed a Foreign Miners License Tax of $3 month meant to target Chinese miners, and crime and violence escalated. An 1854 Supreme Court case, People v. Hall, ruled that the Chinese, like Black Americans and Native Americans, were not allowed to testify in court, making it effectively impossible for Chinese immigrants to seek justice against the mounting violence. By 1870, Chinese miners had paid $5 million to the state of California via the Foreign Miners License Tax, yet they faced continuing discrimination at work and in their camps. Purpose of the Chinese Exclusion ActMeant 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. Chinese-Americans already in the country challenged the constitutionality of the discriminatory acts, but their efforts failed. Scroll to Continue Recommended for you
How Neighborhoods Used Restrictive Housing Covenants to Block Nonwhite Families 5 Over-the-Top Fashion Trends From the Victorian EraKentuckyGeary Act of 1892Proposed 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 were caught not carrying the certificates were sentenced to hard labor and deportation, and bail was only an option if the accused were vouched for by a “credible white witness.” China’s government protested these discriminatory laws, but with anti-immigrant sentiment at fever pitch in the United States, there was little they could do. Chinese Americans were finally allowed to testify in court after the 1882 trial of laborer Yee Shun, though it would take decades for the immigration ban to be lifted. Impact of Chinese Exclusion ActThe Supreme Court upheld the Geary Act in Fong Yue Ting v. United States in 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" groups such as Middle Easterners, Hindu and East Indians and the Japanese with the passage of the Immigration Act of 1924. Chinese immigrants and their American-born families remained ineligible for citizenship until 1943 with the passage of the Magnuson Act. By then, the U.S. was embroiled in World War II and sought to improve relations with an important Asian ally. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Select Citation Style Share Share Share to social media Facebook Twitter URL https://www.britannica.com/topic/Chinese-Exclusion-ActGive Feedback External Websites Feedback Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Feedback Type Your Feedback Submit FeedbackThank you for your feedback Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. External Websites
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Alternate titles: Immigration Act of 1882 By Yuning Wu Last Updated: Nov 25, 2022 Table of ContentsChinese immigration See all media Date:1882 - 1943...(Show more)Location:United States...(Show more)Key People:Chester A. Arthur...(Show more) See all related content → Top Questions 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 explicitly suspend immigration for a specific nationality. The basic exclusion law prohibited Chinese labourers—defined as “both skilled and unskilled laborers and Chinese employed in mining”—from entering the United States. The passage of the act represented the outcome of years of racial hostility and anti-immigrant agitation by white Americans. 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 were closed down. Because of the severe restrictions on female immigrants and the pattern of young men migrating alone, a largely bachelor society emerged. Under the continuing anti-Chinese pressure, Chinatowns were established in urban cities where the Chinese could retreat into their own cultural and social colonies. 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 immigrants. 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 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 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, there were 105,465 in 1880, compared with 89,863 by 1900 and 61,639 by 1920. It signaled the shift from a previously open immigration policy to one where criteria were set regarding who—in terms of ethnicity, gender, and class—could be admitted. Immigration patterns, immigration communities, and racial identities and categories were significantly affected. Chinese Exclusion Act, formally Immigration Act of 1882, U.S. federal law that was the first and only major federal legislation to explicitly suspend immigration for a specific nationality. The basic exclusion law prohibited Chinese labourers—defined as “both skilled and unskilled laborers and Chinese employed in mining”—from entering the country. Subsequent amendments to the law prevented Chinese labourers who had left the United States from returning. The passage of the act represented the outcome of years of racial hostility and anti-immigrant agitation by white Americans, set the precedent for later restrictions against immigration of other nationalities, and started a new era in which the United States changed from a country that welcomed almost all immigrants to a gatekeeping one. The actThe Chinese Exclusion Act was passed by Congress and signed by Pres. Chester A. Arthur in 1882. It lasted for 10 years and was extended for another 10 years by the 1892 Geary Act, which also required that people of Chinese origin carry identification certificates or face deportation. Later measures placed a number of other restrictions on the Chinese, such as limiting their access to bail bonds and allowing entry to only those who were teachers, students, diplomats, and tourists. 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. The Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed in 1943 with the passage of the Magnuson Act, which permitted a quota of 105 Chinese immigrants annually. Various factors contributed to the repeal, such as the quieted anti-Chinese sentiment, 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. Yuning WuCauses and effectsMany scholars explain the institution of the Chinese Exclusion Act and similar laws as a product of the widespread anti-Chinese movement in California in the second half of the 19th century. The Chinese had constituted a significant minority on the West Coast since the middle of the 19th century. Initially, they laboured in gold mines, where they showed a facility for finding gold. As a result, they encountered hostility and were gradually forced to leave the field and move to urban areas such as San Francisco, where they were often confined to performing some of the dirtiest and hardest work. Americans in the West persisted in their stereotyping of the Chinese as degraded, exotic, dangerous, and competitors for jobs and wages. Sen. John F. Miller of California, a proponent of the Chinese Exclusion Act, argued that the Chinese workers were “machine-like…of obtuse nerve, but little affected by heat or cold, wiry, sinewy, with muscles of iron.” Partly in response to that stereotype, organized labour in the West made restricting the influx of Chinese into the United States one of its goals. In other words, the exclusion was the result of a grassroots anti-Chinese sentiment. Other scholars have argued that the exclusion should be blamed on top-down politics rather than a bottom-up movement, explaining that national politicians manipulated white workers to gain an electoral advantage. Still others have adopted a “national racism thesis” that focuses on endemic anti-Chinese racism in early American national culture. 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. 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. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Subscribe Now Some Chinese simply evaded the laws altogether by immigrating illegally. In fact, the phenomenon of illegal immigration became one of the most significant legacies of the Chinese-exclusion era in the United States. Despite the disproportionate time and resources spent by U.S. immigration officials to control Chinese immigration, many Chinese migrated across the borders from Canada and Mexico or used fraudulent identities to enter the country. A common strategy was that of the so-called “paper son” system, in which young Chinese males attempted to enter the United States with purchased identity papers for fictional sons of U.S. citizens (people of Chinese descent who had falsely established the identities of those “sons”). Thus, Chinese exclusion was not only an institution that produced and reinforced a system of racial hierarchy in immigration law, but it was also a process that both immigration officials and immigrants shaped and a realm of power dominance, struggle, and resistance. The impact of the exclusion laws went beyond restricting, marginalizing, and, ironically, activating the Chinese. It signaled the shift from a previously open immigration policy in the United States to one in which the federal government exerted control over immigrants. Criteria were gradually set regarding which people—in terms of their ethnicity, gender, and class—could be admitted. Immigration patterns, immigration communities, and racial identities and categories were significantly affected. The very definition of what it meant to be an American became more exclusionary. Meanwhile, Chinese-exclusion practices shaped immigration law during that time period. Believing that courts gave too much advantage to the immigrants, the government succeeded in cutting off Chinese access to the courts and gradually transferred administration of Chinese-exclusion laws completely to the Bureau of Immigration, an agency operating free from court scrutiny. By 1910 the enforcement of the exclusion laws had become centralized, systematic, and bureaucratic. What were 19th century Chinese immigrants known for?Chinese immigrants in the 19th century worked in the California Gold Rush of the 1850s and the Central Pacific Railroad in the 1860s. They also worked as laborers in Western mines. They suffered racial discrimination at every level of society. The white people were stirred to anger by the "yellow peril" rhetoric .
Which of the following statements describes the Chinese immigrants to the United States in the 19th century?Which of the following statements describes the Chinese immigrants to the United States in the nineteenth century? They faced more severe discrimination than European immigrants.
What were the Chinese immigrants known for?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 in the 19th century?The Chinese immigrants were mainly peasant farmers who left home because of economic and political troubles in China. Most intended to work hard, make a lot of money, and then return to their families and villages as wealthy men.
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