The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was designed to restrict Chinese immigration to the United States. Many people on the West Coast felt that the Chinese workers were responsible for the declining wages and the economic ills experienced at the time. Though the Chinese were estimated to be about 0.002%, of the entire population of the United States, the Congress adopted the Exclusion Act to satisfy workers’ demands and lessen the widespread concerns regarding the need to maintain racial purity.

The Opium Wars between Britain and China in the nineteenth century left most peasants in China without jobs. Most people were forced to go and look for jobs outside the country. In 1848, gold was discovered in California. Many Chinese moved to the United States in search of work during the period of Gold Rush. In 1852, some crops did not perform well in China; as a result, more the 20,000 Chinese trooped to the United States in search of alternative means of income. Due to the high number of migrants, racial violence increased while California passed a miners tax that targeted mainly the Chinese nationals. At the same time, crime and violence soared in California. In 1854, the Supreme Court directed the Chinese and African Americans not allowed to testify in court. The directive made it more difficult for the Chinese to find justice amid the increasing case of violence.

The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 stopped Chinese migration for a decade and directed that the Chinese should not be allowed citizenship to the United States through the process of naturalization. Chester A. Arthur, signed the Act on May 6, 1882, making it a law. The Chinese who were in America at the time tried to challenge the act, but they did not succeed.

In 1902, Chinese migration was banned completely. The move was effective in the sense that the number of Chinese in the country dropped sharply, while those who left the country was not allowed back. Exclusion of Chinese prompted the restriction of immigration movements who were deemed to be unfit. The groups included the Hindu, the Japanese and the Indians. The Chinese were rendered ineligible for United States citizenship until 1943 when the Magnuson Act was passed.

The effects of the Chinese Exclusion Act is that it made it almost impossible for the Chinese to find employment in the United. Initially, the intention was to leave the act in force for ten years, but it lasted for the next sixty years. New immigrants were detained for several days at Angel Island in San Francisco. Members of the Chinese community went through several traumatizing experiences. For instance, families were forced to separate, while those who had businesses were forced to close them up. Because of restrictions, particularly on Chinese females, and the fact that males were only allowed into the country, a large bachelor society emerged. Due to extreme segregations at the time, the Chinese formed Chinatowns in urban centres where they could move into their cultural cocoons.