Historical Events

1882 an act was passed called the Chinese Exclusion act was passed banning immigration of laborers from China to the United States. Students and businessmen were allowed to immigrate to the U.S. This act was to keep Chinese laborers out because many Americans thought they were taking the better jobs and did not want the competition in the job market. 

March 28, 1898: US vs. Wong Kim Ark – U.S. Supreme Court ruled that to deny citizenship to any person born in the U.S. would be a violation of the 14^th Amendment. All US-born Asians were granted free citizenship as a result of this Supreme Court ruling. 

December 7, 1941 is a day "that will live in infamy" because of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The Japanese attacked the naval base in Hawaii and it resulted in the United States entering World War II. 

During WWII President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942 uprooting 100,000 people of Japanese descent on the west coast to be sent to internment camps. This came as a result of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. American were afraid the Japanese Americans would ally with the Japanese to help fight the war. 

The first Asian American to become a member of Congress was Dalip Singh Saund in 1956. He was a South Asian farmer with a Ph.D. degree from central California. This step led to more Asian Americans being involved in politics.

1965 Immigration Act – equalized immigration, resulting in a wave of new immigrants from non-European nations such as Asia and others. This act transformed the demographic and cultural characteristics of the United States. The act also led immigration numbers to double over the next five years and then again in the five years following.