Chinese Exclusion Act
The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1880 prohibited a large number of Chinese people from immigrating to the United States of America. This resulted in reducing the number of people who could obtain the money needed to support their families back in China from jobs during the California Gold Rush. In earlier times, adult Chinese men had to support their extended family and there were very few jobs in China that allowed them to support such large families. The California Gold Rush attracted them because if they were lucky, they could quickly become wealthy enough to support their whole families. The act was supposed to last for ten years, but was extended for another twenty years. This resulted in prohibiting reentry into the United States by those who had returned to China to visit their families. This act was finally abolished in 1912.
Chun Jan Yut
This is a photograph, of Chun Jan Yu taken in 1893, by an Immigrant Agency, to investigate a case related to the Chinese Exclusion Act.