Chinese Exclusion
Encyclopedia
Chinese Exclusion refers to a body of racially discriminatory immigration policies first set up in the United States
, but later imitated by Australia
(White Australia policy
, 1901) and Canada
(1923).
The American Chinese Exclusion Act
was an immigration policy instituted in May 1882 designed initially to keep Chinese laborers from immigrating to the US, although in practice it targeted all but a select handful of Chinese elites from coming to America. It is largely recognized as one of the major defining events of Chinese American
history, and of American immigration history, as it defines the first time in American history that a racial or ethnic group was barred from coming to the US.
The Chinese Exclusion Act was itself repealed in 1943, although recent scholarship has shown that in fact Chinese Exclusion-era immigration enforcement policies and techniques for dealing with Chinese immigrants continued well after the repeal
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, but later imitated by Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
(White Australia policy
White Australia policy
The White Australia policy comprises various historical policies that intentionally restricted "non-white" immigration to Australia. From origins at Federation in 1901, the polices were progressively dismantled between 1949-1973....
, 1901) and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
(1923).
The American Chinese Exclusion Act
Chinese Exclusion Act (United States)
The Chinese Exclusion Act was a United States federal law signed by Chester A. Arthur on May 8, 1882, following revisions made in 1880 to the Burlingame Treaty of 1868. Those revisions allowed the U.S. to suspend immigration, and Congress subsequently acted quickly to implement the suspension of...
was an immigration policy instituted in May 1882 designed initially to keep Chinese laborers from immigrating to the US, although in practice it targeted all but a select handful of Chinese elites from coming to America. It is largely recognized as one of the major defining events of Chinese American
Chinese American
Chinese Americans represent Americans of Chinese descent. Chinese Americans constitute one group of overseas Chinese and also a subgroup of East Asian Americans, which is further a subgroup of Asian Americans...
history, and of American immigration history, as it defines the first time in American history that a racial or ethnic group was barred from coming to the US.
The Chinese Exclusion Act was itself repealed in 1943, although recent scholarship has shown that in fact Chinese Exclusion-era immigration enforcement policies and techniques for dealing with Chinese immigrants continued well after the repeal
Repeal
A repeal is the amendment, removal or reversal of a law. This is generally done when a law is no longer effective, or it is shown that a law is having far more negative consequences than were originally envisioned....
.