What was the Chinese Exclusion Act and how did it affect immigration?

The Chinese Exclusion Act | Image Gallery From the Collection: The Asian American and Pacific Islander Experience

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• Copy Link https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/chinese-exclusion-act-impact/

The Chinese Exclusion Act was intended for 10 years, but the ban lasted for more than 60 years and made it difficult for Chinese immigrants already here from finding jobs and from becoming American citizens.

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  Chinese gold miners in California, at the head of the Auburn Ravine c. 1852. 

  Credit: California State Library
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  Political cartoon from "The Puck" in 1882: "The Anti-Chinese Wall The American Wall Goes Up as the Chinese Original Goes down."

  Credit: Library of Congress
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  The Lim Family, American born and educated, The Chinese Exclusion Law made it difficult for the young generation to find employment, forcing many families to seek opportunities back in China. 

  Credit: Lim Tong Family Archives. Courtesy of the Wong Tong Family Archives.
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  Affidavit establishing the identity and nativity of Wong Kim c. 1889.

  Credit: National Archives and Records Administration, San Francisco, CA.
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  Wong Kim Ark's 1914 Application for a Certificate of Identity c. 1914. 

  Credit: National Archives and Records Administration, San Francisco, CA.
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  Chinese women and children wait at the Angel Island Immigration Station.

  Credit: California Historical Society
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  A tableau of immigration documents, coaching papers in Chinese and interrogation records set up for filming at Angel Island.

  Credit: Photo by Producer Robin Espinola
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  Border identification documents created for entry into the United States at Angel Island.

  Credit: Photo by Producer Robin Espinola

On May 6, 1882, President Chester A. Arthur signed into law the Chinese Exclusion Act. The first major law restricting voluntary immigration to the U.S., the act banned all immigrants from China for 10 years, prohibited Chinese immigrants from becoming American citizens, and restricted the entry and re-entry of Chinese nationals. As Chinese people joined the flow of migrants to the West Coast of the U.S. after the Gold Rush of 1849, many white Americans resented economic competition from Chinese workers, denounced Chinese people as racially inferior, and blamed them for white unemployment and declining wages. The Exclusion Act kept many Chinese nationals from entering the U.S. and fueled mistreatment of Chinese people in America. Soon, anti-Chinese violence in states like Wyoming and Idaho left Chinese immigrants dead, wounded, and fleeing their homes in fear. Though initially authorized to last 10 years, the Exclusion Act was extended and strengthened over the next 80. In 1892, Congress extended the act for another decade, and in 1902, lawmakers made the act permanent and added more discriminatory provisions. The legal ban on immigration from China was slightly loosened in 1943, but large-scale Chinese immigration was not restored until the passage of the Immigration Act of 1965. Like Chinese immigrants did for generations, other hopeful immigrants to the U.S. continue to struggle against unjust laws and harmful abuse rooted in racial prejudice.

About the Film

The new PBS documentary film The Chinese Exclusion Act by award-winning documentary filmmakers Ric Burns and Li-Shin Yu of Steeplechase Films sheds light on the important connections between the Chinese Exclusion Act and the history of American civil liberties, immigration, and culture. By examining the socio-economic and geo-political forces that led to the Act, the film uncovers its unmistakable and wide-ranging consequences on national attitudes towards race, culture, politics, and society. At its core, this is a film about American identity, tracing the arc of what has defined being “American” from the time the United States was a fledgling republic through its astronomical rise as a world superpower. Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) is one of the co-producers and is leading the educational outreach for this documentary.

About the Speakers

Ric Burns is the Co-director of The Chinese Exclusion Act. Burns is a six-time Emmy Award-winning director and has been creating historical documentaries for public television for over 20 years. He began his career co-writing and producing the celebrated PBS series The Civil War (1990) with his brother Ken and Geoffrey C. Ward, and has since directed over 30 hours of award-winning films. Among his body of work are some of the most distinguished programs in the public television series American Experience and American Masters. 2015 saw the release of three films by Burns: American Ballet Theatre: A History, which chronicles the rich history and legacy of America’s only national ballet company, Debt of Honor, which examines how the American government and society have regarded disabled veterans throughout history, and The Pilgrims which brings to life the story of the men and women of the Mayflower, uncovering the forces, circumstances, personalities and events that converged to propel their crossing to the New World. Burns was educated at Columbia University and Cambridge University. He lives in New York City with his wife and two sons.

Horacio Licon is the Vice President of International Investment & Trade for the Greater Houston Partnership, as is responsible for developing and implementing initiatives to attract foreign direct   investment to Houston and for promoting trade development. Previously, Horacio worked with Mexico’s national oil company, PEMEX, where he was responsible for supplier research and analysis in its  Houston international procurement office. There, he assisted many Houston-based firms with innovative technologies for the oil and gas industry to enter the Mexican market.  Horacio's international  economic development career started with the City of San Antonio, Texas in their Monterrey office in 1999. He then worked as trade officer for TradePartners UK before moving to Mexico City as Deputy  Head of Trade & Investment for the British Embassy. He came to Houston in 2009 as Energy Sector Lead for UK Trade & Investment and later served as Head of Trade & Investment for the British  Consulate General, where he was responsible for attracting investment and promoting British companies in the states of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma. Horacio has a B.S. in industrial and systems engineering from Tecnologico de Monterrey and speaks fluent Spanish, English and French.

Li-Shin Yu is the Co-director of The Chinese Exclusion Act. She is a New York-based film editor and has collaborated with Director Ric Burns for the past twenty-three years. Yu and Burns are best known for their epic series NEW YORK: a documentary film, an eight-part production chronicling the city’s rise from a remote Dutch outpost to the cultural and economic center of the world, for which Yu received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Editing. Their most recent film The Pilgrims, brings to life the story of the men and women of the Mayflower with a stunning performance by the late actor Roger Rees as William Bradford. Yu’s other films with Burns include: Enquiring Minds: The Untold Story of the National Enquirer, Death and the Civil War, Into the Deep: America, Whaling & the World, We Shall Remain: Tecumseh’s Vision, Andy Warhol, Eugene O’Neill, Ansel Adams, and The Way West. Their films have garnered multiple awards including Emmys, Peabodys, Writer’s Guild of America, Dupont-Columbia awards amongst many others. Yu began her career collaborating with other New York independent filmmakers including Jim Jarmusch, Spike Lee, Sara Driver and Peter Wang and more recently with documentarians Christine Choy, Bill Moyers, Thomas Lennon and Stanley Nelson amongst others.

About the Moderator

Gordon Quan has had a long history of community activism. The first Asia American elected citywide to the Houston City Council and first to serve as Mayor Pro Tem, Gordon believes each person can make a difference. Professionally, Gordon is the Managing Partner of Quan Law Group, PLLC. He has been selected for Best Lawyers in America, Texas Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers in Houston, and is AV Rated by Martindale-Hubbell. Gordon continues his community service as a member of the Board of Directors of the Coalition for the Homeless (Houston), the South Texas College of Law, Catholic Charities, and Neighborhood Centers, Inc. He also has chaired the Asian Chamber of Commerce and is Vice-Chair of the Asia Society Texas Center.

Asia Society Texas Center Business & Policy Programs, Endowed by

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Bank of America, Muffet Blake, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, and United Airlines are presenting sponsors of Business and Policy programs at Asia Society Texas Center. East West Bank is the presenting sponsor of the China Series. Lead support for Business & Policy programs comes from Nancy C. Allen, BP America, Nancy T. Chang, Anne and Albert Chao, Eagle Global Advisors, and Wells Fargo. Generous funding also provided by the Friends of Asia Society Texas Center, a premier group of individuals and organizations committed to bringing the best in public programming.

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