The fourteenth amendment to the United States, adopted in 1868, grants citizenship to those born within the boundaries of the country. However, there initially were many cases, through the United States history, that Congress passed laws that affected the provisions of the particular amendment. One of those laws became referred to as Chinese Exclusion Act, passed in 1882.
The Chinese immigrants came mostly to the west coast of the United States. Because of the gold rush in San Francisco, in 1849, the total number of immigrants from China greatly increased. The majority of those who came during this time period were working men. There was a greater dependence on cheap labor, plus the Chinese men came here to function in various labor-intensive job capacities.
Therefore, there was no need to increase infrastructure at that time. Institutions, such as schools, did not see much of an increase because not many immigrant children came into the country at that time. Hospitals did not see much of demand for services, because most of the immigrants were healthy, working-aged men.
The act, stated specifically that "laborers skilled and unskilled utilized by mining" could well be excluded from entering the United States for an entire decade. This serious case of discrimination was almost unprecedented in laws being passed in those days by Congress. The immigrant families were faced with either breaking apart their families, or returning to China to keep the families together.
One immediate effect the passage of the law had, was which it provoked large-scale human smuggling. Since workers were denied entrance into the United States, they were smuggled in. Other unintended consequences of the law came following the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco. The town hall was destroyed as well as the official records. Chinese men claimed status due to family ties to other Chinese-Americans, along with their claims could not be disproved because of the destruction of a multitude of official records.
The law was overturned by the Magnuson Act in 1943. Although the Magnuson Act granted citizenship to immigrants currently residing in the country, it denied them the ability to own land or property. This was not repealed fully until 1965.
The influence on the immigration with this act was the lesson never to allow legalized discrimination. The fallout from the passage of the bill in 1882 caused more hardship and regret than it did help any cause. While there is still much debate over what to do about the numerous individuals who currently are now living in the United States without having legal status, the lesson of this law from the nineteenth century reminds us not to pass any law discriminating against any particular nationality or race of an individual.
The Chinese immigrants came mostly to the west coast of the United States. Because of the gold rush in San Francisco, in 1849, the total number of immigrants from China greatly increased. The majority of those who came during this time period were working men. There was a greater dependence on cheap labor, plus the Chinese men came here to function in various labor-intensive job capacities.
Therefore, there was no need to increase infrastructure at that time. Institutions, such as schools, did not see much of an increase because not many immigrant children came into the country at that time. Hospitals did not see much of demand for services, because most of the immigrants were healthy, working-aged men.
The act, stated specifically that "laborers skilled and unskilled utilized by mining" could well be excluded from entering the United States for an entire decade. This serious case of discrimination was almost unprecedented in laws being passed in those days by Congress. The immigrant families were faced with either breaking apart their families, or returning to China to keep the families together.
One immediate effect the passage of the law had, was which it provoked large-scale human smuggling. Since workers were denied entrance into the United States, they were smuggled in. Other unintended consequences of the law came following the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco. The town hall was destroyed as well as the official records. Chinese men claimed status due to family ties to other Chinese-Americans, along with their claims could not be disproved because of the destruction of a multitude of official records.
The law was overturned by the Magnuson Act in 1943. Although the Magnuson Act granted citizenship to immigrants currently residing in the country, it denied them the ability to own land or property. This was not repealed fully until 1965.
The influence on the immigration with this act was the lesson never to allow legalized discrimination. The fallout from the passage of the bill in 1882 caused more hardship and regret than it did help any cause. While there is still much debate over what to do about the numerous individuals who currently are now living in the United States without having legal status, the lesson of this law from the nineteenth century reminds us not to pass any law discriminating against any particular nationality or race of an individual.
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