President Chester A. Arthur signed the Chinese Exclusion Act on May 6, 1882, banning Chinese immigrants from coming to America and becoming citizens. Many Americans believe that the Chinese laborers are stealing jobs, so the Supreme Court has made the decision to revise the Chinese Exclusion Treaty, which was signed by President Rutherford Hayes in 1880.
Although the Treaty only placed limitations on Chinese immigration and naturalization, the Act prohibits both. Chinese laborers cannot come, pleasing many Americans who believe that the Chinese have been taking jobs that belonged to white people. As stated in the Act, any “skilled and unskilled laborers and Chinese employed in mining” are not allowed to immigrate, but the rare Chinese who are not laborers must have a certificate from the Chinese government stating that the subject is allowed to immigrate.
The Act will expire in ten years, but may become permanent. This Act was influenced by American workers during the building of the Transcontinental Railroad. Many Chinese workers immigrated upon learning of the infamous Gold Rush, eventually accepting jobs on the railroad for a lower pay than Americans. The Act not only makes it nearly impossible for any more Chinese immigrants to come to America, but it also specifies that should a Chinese leave America, he must obtain a certificate of reentry before returning.
President Chester Arthur, the signer of the Act, was born in Vermont, on the fifth of October in 1829. His presidency began one year ago, in 1881. Some Americans have dubbed this Republican as “The Gentleman Boss,” considering he was a party boss and agreed to the Chinese Exclusion Act, similar to the Gentlemen’s Agreement. President Arthur delivered the final confirming signature banning all citizenship of Chinese alien immigrants, and building a tall brick wall that no Chinese laborer can even hope to climb.