As the Statue of Liberty was being assembled from parts sent from France in the late 19th Century, the U.S. government passed a law that targeted the Chinese. It banned Chinese workers from immigrating to the U.S., and it banned the Chinese people who were already here from becoming citizens. That ban existed for 60 years. The Chinese Exclusion Act wasn’t repealed until 1943. A new PBS special explores this chapter of American history. It airs nationwide today.
The Lim family, from the PBS American Experience special
“The Chinese Exclusion Act.”
Certificates of identities.
Images courtesy of PBS
