The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the Current Debate Over Naturally Born Citizens
The fourteenth amendment to the United States, adopted in 1868, grants citizenship to those born within the boundaries of this country.
However, there were many instances, throughout the years following, that Congress passed laws contrary to the provisions of that amendment.
One of those laws became known as the Chinese Exclusion Act, passed in 1882.
The Chinese immigrants came mostly to the west coast of the United States.
With the gold rush in San Francisco, in 1849, the number of immigrants from China greatly increased.
The vast majority of those who came during this time were working men.
There was an increased need for cheap labor, and the Chinese men came to work 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 employed by mining" would be excluded from entering the United States for a period of ten years.
This extreme case of discrimination was almost unprecedented in laws being passed at that time by Congress.
The immigrant families were faced with either breaking up their families, or returning to China to keep the families together.
One immediate effect the passage of the law had, was that 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 after the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco.
The town hall was destroyed along with the official records.
Chinese men claimed status based on family ties to other Chinese-Americans, and their claims could not be disproved due to the destruction of so many official records.
The law was repealed by the Magnuson Act in 1943.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This was not repealed fully until 1965.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 impact on the immigration of this act was the lesson not 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 many people who currently reside in the United States without any 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 people.
However, there were many instances, throughout the years following, that Congress passed laws contrary to the provisions of that amendment.
One of those laws became known as the Chinese Exclusion Act, passed in 1882.
The Chinese immigrants came mostly to the west coast of the United States.
With the gold rush in San Francisco, in 1849, the number of immigrants from China greatly increased.
The vast majority of those who came during this time were working men.
There was an increased need for cheap labor, and the Chinese men came to work 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 employed by mining" would be excluded from entering the United States for a period of ten years.
This extreme case of discrimination was almost unprecedented in laws being passed at that time by Congress.
The immigrant families were faced with either breaking up their families, or returning to China to keep the families together.
One immediate effect the passage of the law had, was that 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 after the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco.
The town hall was destroyed along with the official records.
Chinese men claimed status based on family ties to other Chinese-Americans, and their claims could not be disproved due to the destruction of so many official records.
The law was repealed 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 impact on the immigration of this act was the lesson not 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 many people who currently reside in the United States without any 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 people.
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