may 6, 1882 - Chinese Exclusion Act
Description:
Signed into effect on May 6th, 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act was the first restriction on immigration to the United States. Originally intended to be a ten year ban, it was renewed and later made permanent before being repealed by the Magnuson Act on December 17, 1943. In a situation similar to what we face today, people in the 1880s were upset that Chinese immigrants were "stealing their jobs" and sought racial purity by preventing their immigration. Tensions had been rising between European Americans and Chinese Americans since the Gold Rush, but a change in the California Constitution allowed California to "determine which individuals were allowed to reside in the state" and they banned Chinese people from employment.
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