In the 1850s and 60s, tens of thousands of Chinese arrived in California. Some found success panning for gold, while others toiled building the Transcontinental Railroad. But by the early1870s, attitudes toward the Chinese soured.
Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882. It prevented Chinese laborers from entering the U.S. and forbid Chinese immigrants who were already in the country from bringing in their wives and children.
The Exclusion Act was in force through the beginning of World War II. The war brought shifting allegiances and China, an enemy of Japan, became an American ally. Japanese propaganda began to point out the embarrassing fact that Chinese were not welcome in the U.S.
In May of 1943, Pulitzer Prize winning author Pearl Buck and her husband formed the Citizens Committee to Repeal Chinese Exclusion. They lobbied congress to repeal the Chinese Exclusion Act, arguing that it damaged relations with China. Their efforts were successful, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the repeal into law at the end of 1943.
Learn more in the Wilfrid Fleisher papers at UW’s American Heritage Center