Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 (U.S.)

The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 (hereinafter “the Act”) is considered as the first and only federal piece of legislation that prohibited a specific race, nationality, and ethnicity from entering the USA. Signed by President Chester A. Arthur on May 8, 1882, the Act excluded Chinese unskilled and skilled laborers from entry into the USA. Originally lasting a 10-year period, the Act was extended by the Geary Act in 1892, and thereafter extended indefinitely. The Act served as a starting point for the exclusion of citizens of other Asian countries from immigrating to the USA. Through a combination of other Asian exclusionary acts such as the Gentlemen’s Agreement of 1907, Immigration Act of 1917, the National Origins Quota of 1924, and the Tydings-McDuffie Act of 1934, the legacy of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 extended well beyond 1943, when the Act was finally repealed in a propaganda struggle against the Japanese during World War II.