Download Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)

Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)
The Chinese Exclusion Act was the first major law restricting immigration to the
United States. It was enacted in response to economic fears, especially on the West
Coast, where native-born Americans attributed unemployment and declining
wages to Chinese workers whom they also viewed as racially inferior. The Chinese
Exclusion Act, signed into law on May 6, 1882, by President Chester A. Arthur,
effectively halted Chinese immigration for ten years and prohibited Chinese from
becoming US citizens. Through the Geary Act of 1892, the law was extended for
another ten years before becoming permanent in 1902.
Violation of Civil Liberties?
Definition: A legislative act that
singles out an individual or group
for punishment without a trial.
The Constitution of the
United States, Article I,
Section 9, paragraph 3
provides that: "No Bill of
Attainder or ex post facto Law
will be passed."
Importance of the following Supreme Court cases;
Tape v. Hurley
Yick Wo v. Hopkins (1886)
United States v. Wong Ark
Fong Yue Ting (1893)