Chinese Exclusion Act
Facts
- The Chinese were a big part in the completion of the US railroads.
- By 1880, most of the railroads were completed so the Chinese laborers weren't needed anymore.
- In 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act
- The act prohibited any Chinese immigrants to come to America.
- America didn't let immigrants come until 1943.
- The Chinese immigrants would enter through Angel Island in San Francisco
- Over 90% of the Chinese people lived in the West in the 1870s
- The Burlingame Treaty of 1868 enabled Chinese to have free immigration between the USA and China
- When the act was passed, the Chinese people living in the USA were allowed to leave and return with a reentry certificate
- The Geary Act in 1892 extended the ban on Chinese immigrants for 10 more years
- The Chew Heong v. United States case was when Heong said him and his family should get reentry certificate because they were on the boat home when the act was passed. Congress denied him request.
- The Scott Act in 1888 prohibited any Chinese laborers from coming into America even if you had a reentry certificate
- The Scott Act caused more than 20,000 Chinese to not be allowed back into America
- Women were defined by the status of their spouse.
- US women that had married Asian men could lose their citizenship