- #ResistanceRoots Today in History, 1882: President Arthur signs into law the Chinese Exclusion Act, banning immigration by Chinese laborers and denying Chinese residents in the U.S. the ability to become citizens. The law was to last for 10 years but was later renewed and expanded. /1May 6, 2025 19:22
- Prior to enactment of the law, Chinese people in the U.S. faced extreme prejudice, which manifested in massacres, expulsions and other violence and the destruction of their communities. While employers considered them reliable workers, labor leaders used them as scapegoats for depressed wages. /2
- The act specifically excluded Chinese “skilled and unskilled laborers” with the threat of imprisonment and deportation. The goal was to get rid of laborers who competed for jobs. A few Chinese people were allowed, including diplomats, scholars, students, merchants and travelers. /3
- The Geary Act renewed the Chinese Exclusion Act and required Chinese people to carry a resident permit. Failure to do so could be punished by a year of hard labor or deportation. The 1943 Magnuson Act allowed 105 Chinese immigrants per year after China became a U.S. ally in WWII. /4
- The Chinese Exclusion Act was the first law that prohibited immigration based on race and class. It was based on the idea that some aliens could never assimilate — a model that would later be used against other groups. Direct racial barriers to immigration weren’t abolished until 1965. /end
- History keeps repeating itself 🙈🔥
- Yes, ma'am.
- I honestly didn’t know all of this, Shooti! Thank you.
- You're very welcome, Jaye.
- The sins of this nation seem endless. Bottomless. #REPARATIONS
- Australia and New Zealand copied this...
- I'm confused! I thought America was all about the immigrant. Everybody getting an equal shot at the American dream. Or was that just more American bullshit?
- Just need a couple of modifiers ... white, Protestant immigrants.
