Question

QUESTION 1

The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was significant to US history because
A. It was the first step in an evolving race-based immigration restriction policy that culminated in the Johnson Reed Act of 1924.
B. it devastated the California economy by keeping out cheap sources of labor.
C. It delayed the introduction of good Chinese food to the US for 50 years,
D. it was the only time in US history a national group was targeted by immigration restriction laws

Answer 1

Answer: D

Many Americans on the West Coast attributed declining wages and economic ills to Chinese workers. Although the Chinese composed only .002 percent of the nation's population, Congress passed the exclusion act to placate worker demands and assuage prevalent concerns about maintaining white "racial purity."