The Chinese Exclusion Act Was a Chance to Appease the White People

Congress passed the act in response to pressure from labor unions who saw chinese laborers as competition and wanted a way to squeeze them out of the market. Chinese laborers were often willing to work for lower wages than their white counterparts, leading many white workers to be passed over in favor of chinese ones. The root of the problem was the employers that abandoned the white work force in order to save money by exploiting the labor of minority workers. Pitting poor against each other has always been a reliable way for those with wealth and power to maintain the status quo. Over the next 50 or so years, these groups would carry out coordinated attacks, instigate riots and lead purges that resulted in the displacement