When & Timeline 

• Enacted: May 6, 1882, as a 10-year suspension of Chinese labor immigration.
• Extended: In 1892, the Geary Act extended the exclusion for another 10 years and required Chinese residents to carry identification.
• Made Permanent: In 1902, and later in 1904, the ban on Chinese laborers was made indefinite.
• Repealed: On December 17, 1943, during World War II, through the Magnuson Act. 

Why: Reasons for Passage 

• Economic Scapegoating: Following the 1849 Gold Rush and the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad, an economic downturn in the 1870s led white workers to blame Chinese immigrants for declining wages and job shortages.
• Racial Prejudice: Many white Americans viewed Chinese people as "unassimilable," culturally inferior, and a threat to "white racial purity".
• Nativism & Political Pressure: Labor unions and West Coast politicians successfully lobbied for exclusion to gain electoral advantage from white voters. 

How: Implementation 

• Ban on Laborers: It prohibited both skilled and unskilled Chinese laborers from entering the country.
• Exemptions: Certain classes—including merchants, students, teachers, diplomats, and tourists—could still enter if they held proper documentation.
• Denial of Citizenship: The Act explicitly barred Chinese immigrants already in the U.S. from becoming naturalized citizens.
• Internal Policing: Subsequent laws (like the Geary Act) forced Chinese residents to carry "internal passports" or face a year of hard labor and deportation. 

Impact 

• Demographic Decline: The Chinese population in the U.S. dropped from approximately 105,000 in 1880 to roughly 61,639 by 1920.
• Social Isolation: Due to restrictions on women immigrating, Chinese communities became "bachelor societies," leading to the rise of Chinatowns as safe havens from widespread violence.
• Economic Consequences: Research suggests the loss of labor slowed economic growth in the Western U.S. until at least 1940.
• Resistance: Chinese immigrants fought the law through the American court system, winning several landmark cases, while others used the "paper son" system to bypass immigration checks. 

After-Effect & Legacy 

• Precedent for Future Laws: The Act paved the way for broader exclusionary policies, such as the Immigration Act of 1924, which eventually barred almost all Asian immigration.
• Long-Term Repeal Progress: While repealed in 1943 to aid the war alliance with China, it initially only allowed 105 Chinese immigrants per year. Large-scale immigration did not return until the Immigration Act of 1965.
• Formal Apology: In 2011 and 2012, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives unanimously passed resolutions expressing deep regret for the Act and its legacy of discrimination. 

• Chinese Exclusion Act | Research Starters - EBSCO

  This act emerged in the context of rising anti-Chinese sentiment, driven by fears of job competition and racial prejudice, particu...

• The Chinese Exclusion Act reshaped America in 1882. And it’s still ...

  On May 6, 1882, President Chester Arthur signed a law that reshaped America. More than a century later, Congress formally apologiz...

  

• Chinese Exclusion Act: 1882, Definition & Immigrants | HISTORY

  Table of contents. ... The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was the first significant law restricting immigration into the United Sta...