Chinese Immigration to USA

Chinese immigrants traveled to the United States in the 1880’s for intensive labor work. An act passed in 1882 called the Chinese Exclusion Act prohibited Chinese labor immigration in the US for the next 10 years. The Act was signed by the president Chester A. Arthur. Some background on why the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed. In 1850 Chinese immigrants traveled to the West Coast of America to look for work, such as mining for natural resources like gold and to take other jobs like agricultural, factory work, and help build the transcontinental railroad for the west of the United States. As the Chinese immigrant population increased, many people in the United States started Anti-Chinese sentiment in the American economy. These groups started to limit immigration for the Chinese workers into the United States. This started a sour diplomatic between the Chinese people and the United States.

The Chinese Exclusion Act started to cause environmental conflicts such as ethnic discrimination, economic and cultural tensions. But the Chinese mostly came to the United States to work and send money back to their families. In fact most Chinese laborers were paid a higher wages thea actual citizens in the United States. Also California passed laws that you couldn’t have interracial marriage, give a testimony in court, and the Chinese couldn’t become naturalized citizens of the United States.

In 1879, Congress came up with a bill that when the Chinese came over on a ship, there could only be 15 people no more, no less. But it only made its way into legislation when President Rutherford B. Hayes vetoed it. He claimed that the bill violated the U.S treaty agreements with China and the immigrants. The Democrats and Republicans had totally different views on the Chinese immigration laws. The Democrats thought to advocate all exclusion of the Chinese immigrants, while the Republicans were committed to free immigration. President Hayes thought to have a revision of the Burlingame - Seward Treaty so that China would be okay with the limit immigration for the United States. The Burlingame - Seward Treaty was passed in 1868. This treaty was basically a land treaty with the United States and China that left them on good terms. It was also meant for immigration restrictions with China and their immigrants. The Chinese Exclusion Act was indeed abolished when the signing of the Magnuson Act took place on December 17, in 1943.

The Magnuson Act of 1943 was also known as the Chinese Exclusion Repeal Act. In conclusion, the United States was very brutal with how they handled things with the Chinese. Like they are people just trying to make a living and were trying to help their families back home, but the United States sought to make up certain bill’s and act’s to keep them out of the United States. Like the Chinese Exclusion Act that limited how many Chinese people were allowed in the US, the Burlingame-Seward Treaty that was a land treaty between the United States and China.