Chinese Exclusion Act  From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search This article is about the former
U.S. law. For the similar Canadian law, see Chinese Immigration
Act of 1923. Not to be confused with Asian Exclusion Act.
Chinese Exclusion Act Great Seal of the United States
Legislative history The first page of the Chinese Exclusion Act
Chinese immigrant workers building the Transcontinental
Railroad.  The first significant Chinese immigration to North
America began with the California Gold Rush of 1848-1855 and
continued with subsequent large labor projects, such as the
building of the First Transcontinental Railroad. During the
early stages of the gold rush, when surface gold was plentiful,
the Chinese were tolerated, if not well received.[1] As gold
became harder to find and competition increased, animosity
toward the Chinese and other foreigners increased. After being
forcibly driven from the mines, most Chinese settled in enclaves
in cities, mainly San Francisco, and took up low