Tthe Chinese Exclusion Act

The Chinese Exclusion Act

During the early 1860s and late 1870s, there was a large increase in Chinese population in western towns. Immigrants from China and other parts of the world came n to the United States in hopes of getting a better life. Those who came expected their new home to be open to opportunities and good will, but that was not always the case. Anti-Chinese sentiment increased among the white settlers because their workers accepted low wages and undercut union members. White settlers resented the Chinese on economic, cultural, and racial arguments. They were painted as a backward race that failed to progress, and was still barbaric and savage. There was a growing fear of unemployment and unrest in the country. Americans believed that the middle class would take a plummeting blow, and that the class conflict in the U.S. would increase.

By the 1880s, agitation and violence towards the Chinese immigrants had spread throughout most of the country. The Democratic Party saw the popular power of attacking the Chinese and support came from every part of the country. In 1882, Congress passed a law that banned Chinese immigration into the United States for ten years. Those who helped smuggle more immigrants into the country would be charged fines and would spent time in jail. The Chinese Exclusion Act also stopped any of the Chinese in the United States from becoming citizens. The Chinese immigrant did not take the law quietly. There were potations to the government and even federal court charges. Other protested the stereotype that the white Americans had about the general population of Chinese immigrants. All of their efforts failed, and the Chinese population fell by more then 40% by 1927.