Why did Americans pass the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882?

The Chinese Exclusion act was a United States Federal Law that passed on May 6, 1882. It was the first significant law restricting immigration into the United States of America. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 removed Chinese immigration for ten years and declared Chinese as unacceptable for naturalization. According to documents A through D in our Chinese Immigration and Exclusion: Graphic Organizer packet many white Americans supported the Chinese Exclusion Act. The reasons why Americans passed the Chinese Exclusion act of 1882 was because Americans believed the Chinese were bringing competition to them as they flourished into the United States and began to occupy all jobs.

In both Document B and D, these documents support the fact that the Chinese were occupying the jobs of other immigrants in the United States. If you take a look at document B a political cartoon by Thomas Nast from 1871 we see an illustration of Columbia defending and comforting a Chinese immigrant from other immigrants such as a gang of Irish and German thugs. He is hated because the Irish and Germans believe the Chinese immigrants are taking their jobs as they enter into the United States. Document D is a passage from Lee Chew's, "The Biography of a Chinaman." In this document the passage states the reasons for why the Chinese immigrants are being hated. Lee Chew states that, "It was the jealously of laboring men of other nationalities---especially the Irish---that raised the outcry against the Chinese." So this shows more proof on why the Exclusion Act was passed, it was passed because the Chinese were occupying other immigrant's jobs.

In document A and C, these documents support the fact that the Chinese immigrants were occupying not just immigrant but white american jobs as well. In document A we have a script from a play called "The Chinese Must Go" published in San Francisco, 1879. In the script their are two main characters Sam Gin and Ak Coy. These two main characters discuss on how they are better then white Americans and they realize they can do a better job, so they plan on taking American jobs. Document C is a speech from a workingmen of San Francisco on August 16, 1888. In this speech he state how rich men have realized they can use the Chinese as cheap labor so they have imported thousands of Chinese immigrants into the country. Now thousands of Chinese immigrants are occupying every single jobs. The workingman list that the Chinese filled mainly all boot, shoe, and cigar industries. The Chinese immigrants also obtained nearly all farming and sewing jobs. So in conclusion, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was passed because Americans believed they were competition and they were taking every job in the United States.