Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
The resentment of Chinese immigrants reached a highpoint once congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. According to Asian Americans by Pyong Gap Min, he states,
“The Chinese Exclusion Act 1882, the first and only immigration act to specifically designate an ethnic, racial, or nationality group for exclusion. This act prohibited all Chinese laborers, whether skilled or unskilled, from entering the United States for ten years. All other Chinese entering the United States had to have identification certificates issued by the Chinese government. This act also explicitly denied naturalization rights for Chinese in the United States- making them [aliens ineligible for citizenship]” (Asian Americans, Pg. 62).
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These institutions were a way for Chinese immigrants to cling to their culture and allow them to seek economic and social improvement. “During the 1850s, Chinatowns in San Francisco was already a bustling colony of thirty-general merchandise stores, fifteen apothecaries, five restaurants, five herb shops, three boarding houses, five butcher stores, and three tailor shops” (Takaki, Pg.195). Certainly, these establishments exemplify the commitments made by the Chinese population as to developing an infrastructure for proceeding generations. These close net communities were often designed to establish social ties to the United States; ideally, the earlier mindset of many Chinese immigrants had changed; however, for some Chinese immigrants, they were uncertain of their future in the country and as a result “the Chinese tended to invest their money in personal property rather than in land, preferring to take long leases in order to sublet” (Chinese in America Life, Pg. 202). As this mindset was only the minority of the Chinese population, many immigrants contributed to the development of Chinatown by creating their own businesses. In response to the Exclusion Act of 1882, Chinese laborers were forced to adopt new professions in the United States, as their labor services were no longer applicable or beneficial to the American society. The Chinese people began to create businesses profitable in the states; such as, laundromats, Chinese restaurants, and Saloons. These businesses however were not common in their home