Top 10 Examples of Racism in History of the American Labor Movement

10. Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

Pushed for by labor worker, Denis Kearney and his Workingman’s Party, to stifle Chinese laborer immigration, the Chinese Exclusion Act was signed into law by President Chester A. Arthur in 1882, it was one of the most significant restrictions on immigration ever passed. It essentially excluded immigration of Chinese laborers who Kearney and others blamed for pushing down wages. In 1898 and upon the annexation of Hawaii into the US, the supporters of the law tried to exclude Japanese workers from immigrating as well. This was due to the fact that the Hawaiian islands had a large amount of Japanese immigrants living on them. Though the Japanese amendments were not successful, this law which was supposed to only last 10 years eventually became permanent. It was eventually repealed by the Magnuson Act in 1943 however.