may 6, 1882 - Chinese Exclusion Act

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The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was the first significant law restricting immigration into the United States. Although the Chinese made up only .002 percent of the nation's population, Congress passed the exclusion act to accommodate worker demands and prevalent concerns about maintaining white "racial purity”. The act suspended Chinese immigration for ten years and declared the Chinese ineligible for citizenship. Chinese workers already in the country challenged the constitutionality of the discriminatory acts, however, they failed. The act was renewed in 1892 for another ten years, and in 1902, Chinese immigration was made permanently illegal. The legislation was very effective, and the Chinese population in the United States sharply declined. Chinese remained ineligible for citizenship until 1943.

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