The Chinese Exclusion and Immigration Acts of 1882

In the first of the Tenement Museum’s series “The Changing Definition of ‘American,’” we will discuss the federal government’s first immigration laws, which closed the country’s “doors” to many groups at precisely the same moment they were widening for others. The Chinese Exclusion Act and Immigration Act of 1882 set the stage for an evolving set of restrictions in the coming decades, ones that would be debated on city streets, in living rooms, and within the legislature. For this conversation, we intend to have Dr. Mae Ngai and Dr. Tyler Anbinder join Dr. Annie Polland to discuss how these acts were debated by legislators and the public, the resistance they met from within Chinese communities, and the long shadow they have cast on American society.

*Event date/time are subject to change based on scholars’ availability. We will update Humanities NY when all details and speakers are confirmed.