Chinese Exclusion Act

Vu Tran

Chinese Exclusion Act (I)

1. This type of document is a United States federal law.
2. Horace Francis Page is the author of the document but it was signed into law by President Chester A. Arthur on May 6, 1882.
3. This is federal law, so the intended recipient is all the residents in the United States. But it really is for Chinese immigrants.
4. -       Whereas, in the opinion of the Government of the United States the coming of Chinese laborers to this country endangers the good order of certain localities within the territory thereof.

-       That the master of any vessel who shall knowingly bring within the United States on such vessel, and land or permit to be landed, any Chinese laborer, from any foreign port or place, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars for each and every such Chinese laborer so brought, and may be also imprisoned for a term not exceeding one year. (SEC 2)

• That no Chinese person shall be permitted to enter the United States by land without producing to the proper officer of customs the certificate in this act required of Chinese persons seeking to land from a vessel. And any Chinese person found unlawfully within the United States shall be caused to be removed therefrom to the country from whence he came. (SEC 12)

1. This document was written to stop Chinese immigration steal the jobs from native White Americans
2. “The actual crime committed by the Chinese immigrants was willingness to work harder and at lower wage than native white Americans.”
3. -      At that time, racism seemed to be going strong. And the United States did not seem like a multifaceted nation of immigrants around the world.

• Jobless was being a common thing.

1.  Did any immigration have the same problem at that time? The article refers only to Chinese immigrants, but I would like to know more about immigrants from other countries who were treated so at that time.