Chinese Exclusion Act

The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 reversed the Burlingame Treaty of 1868 and excluded all but 105 Chinese immigrants to the United States per year for 10 years. The act was renewed in 1892 for 10 years, and in 1902 with no terminal date. It was finally repealed in 1943.

The act was passed in response to the large number of Chinese who had immigrated to the Western United States as a result of unsettled conditions in China and the availablity of jobs working on railroads.

See also: Immigration Act, Chinese American