Question

Which of the following was the purpose of the Chinese Exclusion Act?

Answer 1

The purpose of the Chinese Exclusion Act was to restrict immigration into the United States and was the first law passed to do so.

Answer 2

The purpose of the Chinese Exclusion Act was to limit immigration from China.

This act, passed in the 1880's, was aimed at Chinese immigrants for multiple reasons.

The main reason was the rise of nativism in the United States. Nativism is the belief that the needs/wants of American born citizens should take priority over immigrants. These nativists hated immigrants, as many immigrants were willing to work for less wages than American born citizens. These nativists felt that immigrants were taking jobs away from American citizens. This movement and the fear of immigrants taking over jobs from Americans helped to spur the passing of this law.