Who Voted against the Chinese Exclusion Act?

Ranjit Dighe, State University of New York at Oswego (SUNY)

The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 is one of the most infamous laws ever passed by the United States Congress. It was a turning point in US immigration policy, as the nation’s first immigration restriction of any kind, as well as the first to exclude an entire racial group. Although the act passed with big majorities in both houses of Congress, 15 senators and 37 representatives voted No. And 29 senators and 51 representatives did not vote. The act's passage has been attributed to racism and concern for labor standards, but the motivations of those who voted No or did not vote on it have been less scrutinized. This paper tries to explain the motivations of all three but especially those of the congressmen who voted No. One hypothesis is that "pro-business" congressmen supported unrestricted immigration as good for employer profits. Another is that these congressmen opposed the act for antiracist or altruistic reasons. Other explanations may emerge in the course of this study. This paper begins by looking for patterns among the act's supporters, opponents, and nonvoters, based on basic biographic information of each congressman. (For example, not a single Senate Democrat voted against the act.) It then offers a more quantitative approach, regressing Yes votes, No votes, and non-votes on political, geographic, and economic factors.

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 194. Fighting for the Rights of Citizens