2.5 Other Acts

In 1852, Congress passed a new foreign miner’s tax. This required that every month, a foreign miner had to pay four dollars. While the tax was called the foreign miner’s tax, it was more specifically targeted at the new waves of Chinese immigrants. There were other foreign miners, such as the Irish, but the Chinese composed the largest minority group to be mining, particularly in California where the Gold Rush was happening. While this was a result of anti-Chinese racism, it also resulted in large mining companies wanting to keep the Chinese in the United States because they would then profit off of the taxes. This sentiment would not last long though and was not held by most of the general public. (National Archives)

The Anti-Coolie Act of 1862 required all Chinese in California had to pay a $2.50 tax per month except for some working in certain businesses. (The California Senate and Assembly)

The Cable Act of 1922 stated that any white American woman who married and Asian man would lose her citizenship. (Rebecca)

The Sidewalk Ordinance, passed in 1870, stopped Chinese from carrying shoulder poles on the city of San Francisco sidewalks. This prevented Chinese from carrying goods around which included their personal belongings as well as things like laundry, which they would deliver to costumers. (The Library of Congress)

In 1871, the Cubic Air Ordinance was passed in San Francisco. This required five hundred cubic feet of living space for ever adult. This was targeted especially to Chinatown, where the Chinese immigrants were often living in very crowded quarters. This ordinance had to repealed three years later because it had resulted in the arrest of several hundred Chinese and thus overcrowded jails. (Yang)

San Francisco then passed the Queue Ordinance which required that all prisoners cut their queues off so that they were no longer than an inch, resulting in deep humiliation. (National Archives)

The Fifteen Passenger Bill of 1879 was created to restrict Chinese immigration to the United States. It required that any single vessel could not carry more than fifteen Chinese immigrants to the United States, thus cutting down the number of immigrants that could enter the United States at one time. (Roberts)

Like the Fifteen Passenger Act “An Act to Discourage Immigration to this State of Persons Who Cannot Become Citizens Thereof” required that a tax of $50 for each passenger is who ineligible to naturalized citizenship must be paid by the ship’s owner. (Black)

The Anti-Miscegenation Act of 1889 prohibited the marriage of colored men, including Chinese men, and white woman. (Hurwitz)