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Chinese Exclusion Act, 1884 Amendments
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The 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act allowed laborers and merchants already
resident in the U.S. to leave the country and return, if they had the proper
certification. In 1884, Congress passed amendments to the 1882 act which
tightened the certification process. The certificates were to include more
personal information about the holder than originally required, to be issued
only by the federal government, and to constitute the only proof of residence;
in addition, immigration officials could reject their authenticity. Finally, an
amendment clarified that the Exclusion Act applied to all Chinese regardless of
country of citizenship or origin. The Chinese legation issued a strongly worded
protest against the amendments. |
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Sources consulted:
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Charles J. McClain,
In Search of Equality: The Chinese
Struggle Against Discrimination in Nineteenth-Century America (Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1994)
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