Reasons For The Chinese Exclusion Act Of 1882

The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was one of the many results of a surplus of Chinese immigrants flooding into the United States - specifically California and the west coast. The Chinese Exclusion Act vetted and restricted all Chinese immigrants from entering the United States, and the Geary Act of 1892 prolonged the original act. Although most were good natured, hard working immigrants willing to sacrifice to have a chance at the American Dream, the immigration of Chinese immigrants to the United States was banned. The Chinese Exclusion Act was not passed on one concrete reason, instead it was a collection of reasons. Overall, In 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed to limit the amount of Chinese Immigrants in the United States because of bigotry toward Chinese culture, however,

To begin with, racism and the denial of the Chinese culture was a large reason the Chinese were banned. There were about 106,000 Chinese in America. Even though this was a small amount of Chinese people compared to the amount of citizens in the United States, t (Timeline of Chinese Immigration and Exclusion). Many were unfamiliar with the culture and appearance that the Chinese had. Plays titled such as “THE CHINESE MUST GO” re-enforced this, and Chinese immigrants were ridiculed for the way they talk. For example, a citizen would say ‘eat too much’ and that would be phrased as “eaty too muchee” if a Chinese immigrant said it (Grimm). Many citizens were uncomfortable with the Chinese, even going to the extent that the Chinese “threatens our… prosperous society” (Workingmen of San Francisco). Both of these examples show that the public perceived the Chinese as a danger, and ‘alien’ to American culture, and this carried on to