Chinese Exclusion Act Signed into Law
May 6, 1882 · 19th Century
On May 6, 1882, President Chester Arthur signed the Chinese Exclusion Act, the first federal law to restrict immigration based on race and nationality. It prohibited Chinese laborers from entering the United States and barred Chinese immigrants already present from becoming citizens. Renewed and expanded in 1892 and made permanent in 1902, the act established the legal framework for race-based immigration exclusion that would shape U.S. policy for decades and inspire subsequent restrictions targeting other groups.
Key Figures
Grover ClevelandChester ArthurWong Chin Foo
Locations
Washington, D.C.San Francisco
Topics
civil rightsUSAimmigrationracismChinese Americansnativismimmigration enforcement
Connected Events — 4 Connections
Established race-based exclusion logic echoed in Plessy v Ferguson Supreme Court Decision
Preceded by one year and mirrored logic of Civil Rights Cases of 1883
Expanded and nationalized exclusion framework established by Immigration Act of 1924 Signed into Law
Extended race-based exclusion logic of Executive Order 9066 — Japanese American Internment
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