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The '''Chinese Exclusion Act''' was a law passed by the U.S. Congress in 1882 in response to [[nativist]] hatred of Chinese immigrants by [[labor union]]s.<ref>Moreno, Paul D., (2010). [https://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/serials/files/cato-journal/2010/1/cj30n1-4.pdf Cato Journal, Vol 30, No. 1: Unions and Discrimination], p. 72. ''Cato Institute''. Retrieved May 22, 2023.</ref> (see: [[Labor unions and racism]]) It prevented the large scale immigration of Chinese workers into the U.S. although tens of thousands came in illegally. Restriction was repealed in 1943 and amnesty was provided for the thoussands of illegal Chinese immigrants  in the 1950s.

The '''Chinese Exclusion Act''' was a law passed by the U.S. Congress in 1882 in response to [[nativist]] hatred of Chinese immigrants by [[labor union]]s.<ref>Moreno, Paul D., (2010). [https://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/serials/files/cato-journal/2010/1/cj30n1-4.pdf Cato Journal, Vol 30, No. 1: Unions and Discrimination], p. 72. ''Cato Institute''. Retrieved May 22, 2023.</ref> (see: [[Labor unions and racism]]) It prevented the large scale immigration of Chinese workers into the U.S. although tens of thousands came in illegally. Restriction was repealed in 1943 and amnesty was provided for the thousands of illegal Chinese immigrants  in the 1950s.

 

==Immigration==

==Immigration==

Fewer than 50 Chinese immigrated to the U.S. before 1850. With the discovery of gold in 1849 tens of thousands of people raced to California. The Chinese first came as miners, then as railroad workers constructing the transcontinental line, which was finished in 1869. Before restrictions began in 1883, 290,000 Chinese—almost all men—entered the U.S., usually through San Francisco. The goal was to acquire money and return home, and 147,000 left before 1883. The exclusion only applied to unskilled workers. Merchants, students and "paper sons" continued to arrive officially, and totaled 57,000 from 1884 to 1916. Anothr 17,000 or so were smuggled in.<ref>See Sidney Lewis Gulick, ''American democracy and Asiatic citizenship'' (1918) [http://pds.lib.harvard.edu/pds/view/4273916?n=153&s=4 p. 153 online]</ref>  

Fewer than 50 Chinese immigrated to the U.S. before 1850. With the discovery of gold in 1849 tens of thousands of people raced to California. The Chinese first came as miners, then as railroad workers constructing the transcontinental line, which was finished in 1869. Before restrictions began in 1883, 290,000 Chinese—almost all men—entered the U.S., usually through San Francisco. The goal was to acquire money and return home, and 147,000 left before 1883. The exclusion only applied to unskilled workers. Merchants, students and "paper sons" continued to arrive officially, and totaled 57,000 from 1884 to 1916. Another 17,000 or so were smuggled in.<ref>See Sidney Lewis Gulick, ''American democracy and Asiatic citizenship'' (1918) [http://pds.lib.harvard.edu/pds/view/4273916?n=153&s=4 p. 153 online]</ref>  

 

===Hawaii===

===Hawaii===

Another 40,000 went to Hawaii, an independent country that joined the U.S. in 1898. The exclusion now applied to Hawaii but it was not retroactive. In 1900 there were 26,000 Chinese residing in Hawaii and they had full U.S. citizenship. They were welcomed into Hawaiian society, assimilated rapidly, led all ethnic groups in school attendance; 32% lived in Honolulu, where many became businessmen, entrepreneurs, managers, teachers and professionals. Others were farmers, but their children usually moved to the city. Chinese were allowed to own land in Hawaii (unlike the mainland) and (unlike the mainland) often married outside the ethnic group, especially Chinese immigrant men and native Hawaiian women.<ref>Doremus Scudder, ''Chinese citizenship in Hawaii'' (1905) [http://pds.lib.harvard.edu/pds/view/4433933?n=6&imagesize=1200&jp2Res=.25 page 6 online]; Stephan Thernstrom, ed. ''Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups'' (1980) [https://books.google.com/books?id=npQ6Hd3G4kgC&pg=PA232&lpg=PA232&dq=Hawaiian+chinese+1900&source=web&ots=wdoSye6xsj&sig=rBDc8l2dPzhkXS_El_cupdCxtHU&hl=en pp 231-33 online]</ref>

Another 40,000 went to Hawaii, an independent country that joined the U.S. in 1898. The exclusion now applied to Hawaii but it was not retroactive. In 1900 there were 26,000 Chinese residing in Hawaii and they had full U.S. citizenship. They were welcomed into Hawaiian society, assimilated rapidly, led all ethnic groups in school attendance; 32% lived in Honolulu, where many became businessmen, entrepreneurs, managers, teachers and professionals. Others were farmers, but their children usually moved to the city. Chinese were allowed to own land in Hawaii (unlike the mainland) and (unlike the mainland) often married outside the ethnic group, especially Chinese immigrant men and native Hawaiian women.<ref>Doremus Scudder, ''Chinese citizenship in Hawaii'' (1905) [http://pds.lib.harvard.edu/pds/view/4433933?n=6&imagesize=1200&jp2Res=.25 page 6 online]; Stephan Thernstrom, ed. ''Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups'' (1980) [https://books.google.com/books?id=npQ6Hd3G4kgC&pg=PA232&lpg=PA232&dq=Hawaiian+chinese+1900&source=web&ots=wdoSye6xsj&sig=rBDc8l2dPzhkXS_El_cupdCxtHU&hl=en pp 231-33 online]</ref>

===West===

===West===

The [[Burlingame Treaty]] of 1868 between the U.S. and China facilitated the immigration of tens of thousands of Chinese men; very few women came. But the completion of the transcontinental railways brought more white laborers to the West, and they strenuously complained of "Oriental" competition, involving "coolies" trapped into indentured labor (a form of semi-slavery),<ref>Coolies existed but they did not go to America. About 125,000 Chinese laborers went to Cuba between 1847 and 1874 to work under conditions approximating slavery. See Moon-ho Jung,  "Outlawing 'Coolies': Race, Nation, and Empire in the Age of Emancipation." ''American Quarterly'' 2005 57(3): 677-701.</ref> unskilled workers paid very low wages and a population impossible to assimilate into American society or political culture.  Other complaints centered on the tongs that controlled every aspect of Chinese life in America, and the opium dens.  

The [[Burlingame Treaty]] of 1868 between the U.S. and China facilitated the immigration of tens of thousands of Chinese men; very few women came. But the completion of the transcontinental railways brought more white laborers to the West, and they strenuously complained of "Oriental" competition, involving "coolies" trapped into indentured labor (a form of semi-slavery),<ref>Coolies existed but they did not go to America. About 125,000 Chinese laborers went to Cuba between 1847 and 1874 to work under conditions approximating slavery. See Moon-ho Jung,  "Outlawing 'Coolies': Race, Nation, and Empire in the Age of Emancipation." ''American Quarterly'' 2005 57(3): 677-701.</ref> unskilled workers paid very low wages and a population impossible to assimilate into American society or political culture.  Other complaints centered on the tongs that controlled every aspect of Chinese life in America, and the opium dens.  

By the 1940s over a fourth of the Chinese in the U.S. had arrived illegally.  They obtained legal status in the 1950s under a federal amnesty program called "Chinese Confession Program" in which they admitted their illegal entry.<ref>Immigration and Naturalization Service records showed 30,460 fraudulent claims among the 117,629 Chinese counted in the 1950 Census, or 25.8%.  Mae M. Ngai, "Legacies of Exclusion: Illegal Chinese Immigration During the Cold War Years." ''Journal of American Ethnic History'' 1998 18(1): 3-35. Issn: 0278-5927 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]</ref>

By the 1940s over a fourth of the Chinese in the U.S. had arrived illegally.  They obtained legal status in the 1950s under a federal amnesty program called "Chinese Confession Program" in which they admitted their illegal entry.<ref>Immigration and Naturalization Service records showed 30,460 fraudulent claims among the 117,629 Chinese counted in the 1950 Census, or 25.8%.  Mae M. Ngai, "Legacies of Exclusion: Illegal Chinese Immigration During the Cold War Years." ''Journal of American Ethnic History'' 1998 18(1): 3-35. Issn: 0278-5927 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]</ref>

===Repeal 1943===

 

===1943: repeal===

The laws were repealed in 1943, during World War II, as the U.S. and China were allies fighting the Japanese. President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] believed that making China an "equal" ally in every way would be important to preserve postwar stability. Public opinion in favor of the Chinese was mobilized by the nationwide speaking tours of Madame Chiang Kai-shek, the American educated wife of the Chinese leader, and by publicity in ''Time'' and ''Life'' magazines (owned by [[Henry R. Luce]], who was born in China to missionary parents) and from best-selling novelist [[Pearl Buck]].<ref>Xiaohua Ma, "The Sino-American Alliance During World War II and the Lifting of the Chinese Exclusion Acts," ''American Studies International'' 2000 38(2): 39-61. Issn: 0883-105x Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]; Fred Riggs, ''Pressures on Congress: A Study in the Repeal of Chinese Exclusion'' (1950)</ref>  

The laws were repealed in 1943, during World War II, as the U.S. and China were allies fighting the Japanese. President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] believed that making China an "equal" ally in every way would be important to preserve postwar stability. Public opinion in favor of the Chinese was mobilized by the nationwide speaking tours of Madame Chiang Kai-shek, the American educated wife of the Chinese leader, and by publicity in ''Time'' and ''Life'' magazines (owned by [[Henry R. Luce]], who was born in China to missionary parents) and from best-selling novelist [[Pearl Buck]].<ref>Xiaohua Ma, "The Sino-American Alliance During World War II and the Lifting of the Chinese Exclusion Acts," ''American Studies International'' 2000 38(2): 39-61. Issn: 0883-105x Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]; Fred Riggs, ''Pressures on Congress: A Study in the Repeal of Chinese Exclusion'' (1950)</ref>  

* Saxton, Alexander. ''The Indispensable Enemy: Labor and the Anti-Chinese Movement in California'' (1971)

* Saxton, Alexander. ''The Indispensable Enemy: Labor and the Anti-Chinese Movement in California'' (1971)

* Tong, Benson. ''The Chinese Americans.'' (2000), 248pp [http://www.questia.com/read/27268692?title=The%20Chinese%20Americans online edition]

* Tong, Benson. ''The Chinese Americans.'' (2000), 248pp [http://www.questia.com/read/27268692?title=The%20Chinese%20Americans online edition]

===Primary sources===

===Primary sources===

* [http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/immigration/themes-exclusion.html books and government documents, pre 1920s, both pro and anti-restriction]

* [http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/immigration/themes-exclusion.html books and government documents, pre 1920s, both pro and anti-restriction]

*  Yung, Judy, et al. ads. ''Chinese American Voices: From the Gold Rush to the Present'' (2006) [https://www.amazon.com/Chinese-American-Voices-Gold-Present/dp/0520243102/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212931634&sr=1-4 excerpt and text search]

*  Yung, Judy, et al. ads. ''Chinese American Voices: From the Gold Rush to the Present'' (2006) [https://www.amazon.com/Chinese-American-Voices-Gold-Present/dp/0520243102/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212931634&sr=1-4 excerpt and text search]

* [http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award99/cubhtml/cichome.html "The Chinese in California: 1850-1925"] 8,000 pages of photos and primary source  

* [http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award99/cubhtml/cichome.html "The Chinese in California: 1850-1925"] 8,000 pages of photos and primary source  

====notes====

 

====Notes====

[[Category:Gilded Age]]

[[Category:Gilded Age]]