The 1882 Immigration Act was the first comprehensive immigration law enacted by the federal government. In 1875, Congress passed the Page Law, which served to reduce immigration of women fromAsia. However, to truly understand this policy, you have to look further back in history.

In United States: Immigration.

The passage of the act started a new era in which the United States changed from a country that welcomed almost all immigrants to a gatekeeping one. There are no Chinese tramps or drunkards. So those people would not have to be taken care of by the country. In May 1852, California imposed a Foreign Miners Tax of $3 month meant to target Chinese miners, and crime and violence escalated. An 1854 Supreme Court Case, People v. Hall, ruled that the Chinese, like African Americans and Native Americans, were not allowed to testify in court, making it effectively impossible for Chinese immigrants to seek justice against the mounting violence. It reinforced and extended the Chinese Exclusion Act’s ban on Chinese immigration for an additional ten years. – Excerpt from Lee Chew, “The Biography of a Chinaman,” Independent, 15 (19 February 1903), 417–423. var months = new Array(12); More loosely, it alludes to the entire range of democratic reforms that proceeded alongside the Jacksonians’ ...read more. These funds would be used to "defray the expense of regulating immigration under this act." The Burlingame Treaty was revised and the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed on May 6, 1882. Immigration Act of 1882 prohibited immigration of criminals, paupers and the insane. Roger Daniels and Otis L. Graham, Debating American Immigration, 1882-present (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2001), 13. "[5] It was a significant turning point of immigration policy in terms of relying on federal level legislation and administration. In 1890 the individual states turned over control of immigration to the Federal Government.

help@magoosh.com, Facebook While this was not the first federal immigration law, as others were mentioned previously, states and local levels of immigration ports were mainly in control of immigration policy. Unlike the Chinese Exclusion act, the Immigration Act of 1882 would not limit all immigration from a certain country or region. Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 The first federal law to restrict immigration on the basis of race and class. Most labor unions denounced Chinese immigration, which eventually led to this act's passage. :) If your comment was not approved, it likely did not adhere to these guidelines. Check out the Siteseen network of educational websites. magush, one who is highly learned, wise and generous. © 2020 A&E Television Networks, LLC. months[0] = " Discover the vast range of useful, leisure and educational websites published by the Siteseen network. "; Gunderson, Theodore. In 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act to appease workers economic concerns, as well as to pacify any concerns that non-whites would “overrun” white people; the idea of racial purity was incredibly important at this time for whites. The Purpose of the Immigration Act of 1882The federal government had to tread a fine line with the Act of 1882. was the 21st American President who served in office from September 19, 1881 to March 4, 1885. In that year, Congress passed the Magnuson Act that finally allowed Chinese immigrants to become citizens (in part because China was an ally during World War Two against Imperial Japan). Significance of the Immigration Act of 1882The significance of the Act of 1882 was that further laws would be passed restricting immigrants and increasing government regulation. It also required Chinese residents in the U.S. to carry special documentation—certificates of residence—from the Internal Revenue Service. The influx of immigration during the 1850s to 1900s in America. The Chinese Exclusion Act, signed in 1882, was a Federal law that suspended Chinese immigration into America. These two excerpts are helpful in understanding how people at the time viewed the Chinese Exclusion Act. Proposed by Stephen A. Douglas–Abraham Lincoln’s opponent in the influential Lincoln-Douglas ...read more, The Gentlemen’s Agreement between the United States and Japan in 1907-1908 represented an effort by President Theodore Roosevelt to calm growing tension between the two countries over the immigration of Japanese workers. "use strict";(function(){var insertion=document.getElementById("citation-access-date");var date=new Date().toLocaleDateString(undefined,{month:"long",day:"numeric",year:"numeric"});insertion.parentElement.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(date),insertion)})(); FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. Thanks! In 1917, 1921, and 1924, Congress added exclusions by national origins to the list of undesirables. Meant to curb the influx of Chinese immigrants to the United States, particularly California, The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 suspended Chinese immigration for ten years and declared Chinese immigrants ineligible for naturalization.   Twitter This then led to the second historically significant component of the Act. In response, Congress passed two historic immigration acts. The expense of returning convicts were to be borne by the owners of the vessels● That an examination on the condition of passengers should be made on arrival● If on examination any of the passengers were found to be any the following, a written report should be made to the collector at each port and such persons should not be permitted to land:● ● A Convict (except political)● ● A Lunatic● ● A person unable to take care of himself or herself without becoming a public charge. One of the long-lasting legacies of this act is public charge doctrine. – Excerpt from a speech given to the workingmen of San Francisco on August 16, 1888. A U.S. law suspending Chinese immigration into America. If you are a Premium Magoosh student and would like more personalized service, you can use the Help tab on the Magoosh dashboard. Finally, in 1902, the Chinese were permanently barred from immigrating to the United States; this ruling would not be overturned until 1943. Web. The ban was supposed to last 10 years, but it was expanded several times and was essentially in effect until WWII. The Immigration Act of 1882 levied a tax of 50 cents on all immigrants landing at US ports as part of a government immigration fund. Chinese Exclusion Act (1882), U.S. federal law that was the first and only major federal legislation to explicitly suspend immigration for a specific nationality.

As such, it would have enormous consequences for future immigration legislation.

[6] In addition to the head tax, the Act also stipulated the responsibility of government agents to inspect ports and vessels bringing immigrants into the country. The second law passed by Congress in the same year as the Chinese Exclusion Act was the Immigration Act of 1882 which restricted immigrants from Europe. The purpose for the Act of 1882 was therefore to limit immigration based on excluding certain kinds of people who were deemed "undesirable".

months[5] = " Uncover a wealth of facts and information on a variety of subjects produced by the Siteseen network. It encouraged Chinese immigration to the United States at a time when cheap labor was in demand for U.S. railroad construction. The College Board® does not endorse, nor is it affiliated in any way with the owner or any content of this web site. months[11] = "The diverse range of websites produced by the Siteseen Network have been produced to help you conduct research on many topics of interest.