History Paper: Chinese Exclusion Act

Name Instructor Course Date History Paper In the late 1880s, there were large numbers of Asian communities moving into the US for new opportunities which included working at the gold mines. However, the Whites had negative sentiments against the Chinese as they regarded them as being rivals for their wealth. Therefore, in the year 1882, the congress passed an Act restricting the immigration of the Chinese into the nation. Hence, the work describes the Act and how it affected the Asian communities. Description of the Chinese Exclusion Act The Chinese Exclusion Act was considered the first law that significantly restricted immigration into the US of an ethnic group. The Act was signed in 1882 by president Chester Arthur after being passed by the congress. The law restricted the immigration of Chinese laborer’s into the nation whether skilled or unskilled. Actually, the aim of the Act was to maintain the purity of the White population even the few sizes of Chinese people who were available in the nation could not be entertained (Chen 15). Majorly, the Chinese offered cheap labor at the mines which was considered an economic ill on the contempt Chinese employees. Further, the Act was subsequently amended and now prevented the returning of the Chinese people who had moved out of the country. Later, the law was adjusted to restrict the immigration of other nationalities at the time, thereby, making the US to be a gatekeeping nation instead of a welcoming nation regarding the issue of immigration. The exclusion was caused by anti-Chinese sentiment by the Whites who lived at the White coast. They believed that the Chinese were rivals as they were dangerous, degraded, competitors for jobs, and exotic. The stereotyping of the population further made the Whites to sta...