Chinese
Some Reasons for Chinese Exclusion, a pamphlet produced by the American Federation of Labor, 1901; courtesy of the Bancroft Library, U.C. Berkeley
Racist Discrimination and the Chinese Exclusion Act
By limiting immigration for 10 years, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 sought to contain the threat of competition that Chinese immigrants posed to white laborers. The act introduced a list of race-based restrictions aimed exclusively at Chinese communities. For instance, it banned all Chinese immigrants other than students, teachers, and merchants from entering the U.S.. In addition, the law prevented those already living in the United States from becoming naturalized U.S. citizens, regardless of how long they had lived and worked in the country. Based on false beliefs of racial and moral inferiority, such legal restrictions on Chinese immigration were extended until 1902. Chinese exclusion was not fully ended in the United States until 1943.