Excluding Chinese Continued Even When Jobs for Whites Were Abundant

The primary reason cited for the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act was that cheap Chinese labor was taking jobs from whites, especially during the great economic depression that started in 1873.  As dramatized in an 1894 cartoon depiction, the Chinese would eventually take over all forms of work.

       However, the 1882 exclusion law, proposed initially for 10 years, was renewed several times and was not repealed until 1943. Over these many years, there were periods of prosperity and the initial rationale for Chinese exclusion was not valid for its continuation.  Factors other than economic ones played an important role in continuing exclusion such as intolerance of cultural differences in customs, values, dress, and food, to name a few.  Feelings of white superiority over "Orientals" or xenophobia, fear of different peoples, often unwarranted, also contributed to exclusion.