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Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

Definition

The Chinese Exclusion Act was a U.S. federal law signed by President Chester A. Arthur prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers for ten years; it was later extended indefinitely before being repealed in 1943.

Analogy

Imagine if your school suddenly banned all students with brown hair from attending for ten years - that’s essentially what happened with this act but instead of hair color it targeted nationality.

Related terms

Gentlemen’s Agreement (1907): An informal agreement between the United States and Japan whereby Japan would not allow further emigration to the U.S., thus avoiding formal immigration restrictions and reducing tensions between the two nations.

Immigration Act of 1924: A United States federal law that limited the annual number of immigrants who could be admitted from any country to 2% of the number of people from that country who were already living in the United States as of the 1890 census.

Nativism: The political policy or practice of preserving or reviving an indigenous culture. In this context, it refers to a policy favoring native inhabitants as opposed to immigrants.