The Chinese Exclusion Act was passed in 1882 and was the ban of Chinese laborers from immigrating into the United States. President Chester A. Arthur signed this law and approved it.
Many people during this time were prejudice against Chinese immigrants. Most of this prejudice and racism came from the California Gold Rush, as many Chinese immigrants went to California during this time for work trying to find gold. Many white Americans thought that the Chinese were trying to take their wages and jobs and were not happy about it whatsoever.
This lead to a lot of hate to Chinese immigrants from white Americans and eventually got into the hands of higher authorities such as President Chester A. Arthur. The ban upon Chinese laborers was the first immigration law that banned a race or ethnic group to this extent.
