The Chinese Exclusion Act was ultimately repealed in 1943 by the Magnuson Act which established quotas for Chinese immigrants and made them eligible for American citizenship. With the moratorium in place for over half of a century, this legislation and the factors behind its becoming law provide a glimpse into America's concerns over foreign labor as it became an industrialized nation.
This web site seeks to shed light on Chinese life in 19th Century
America including: reasons for emigrating to California
two glossaries that explain the myths surrounding the indentured
servant (i.e. "coolie") after the Civil War
designed to assist Chinese laborers in California
, tensions between white and
, political posturing that
allowed the Exclusion Act to become law
, and a
collection of articles and suggested sources for further study
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