Us & Them: Immigration and the Construction of Race
Student Handout #3
Exclusion Act
Forty-Seventh Congress. Session I.
Chapter 126.-An act to execute certain treaty stipulations relating to___.
Preamble .
Whereas, in the opinion of the Government of the United States the coming of
_____ laborers to this country endangers the good order of certain localities
within the territory thereof:
Therefore ,
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States
of America in Congress assembled, That from and after the expiration of ninety
days next after the passage of this act, and until the expiration of ten years
next after the passage of this act, the coming of _____ laborers
to the United States be, and the same is hereby, suspended; and during such
suspension it shall not be lawful for any _____ laborer to come ,
or, having so come after the expiration of said ninety days, to remain within
the United States.
SEC. 2. That the master of any vessel who shall knowingly
bring within the United States on such vessel, and land or permit to be landed,
and _____ laborer, from any foreign port of place, shall be deemed
guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine
of not more than five hundred dollars for each and every such _____
laborer so brought, and may be also imprisoned for a term not exceeding one
year.
Guided Thinking Questions
Use document above to answer the following questions.
- What is the purpose of this piece of legislation?
- To whom do you believe this legislation is referring and why would this group have been excluded?
- During what time period might this legislation have been passed? What evidence supports your hypothesis?
- What evidence do you have of racial thinking?