Racial Scapegoating during the lead-up to the Chinese Exclusion Act
Brandon Kim
13/10/2026
Throughout the mid-19th century, thousands of ethnic Chinese immigrants arrived in the United States seeking economic opportunities, spurred by events such as the California Gold Rush. At first, Chinese immigrants were accepted by their communities because they were willing to take on laborious, low-paying jobs amid a perceived labor shortage. These Chinese immigrants had a crucial role in many industries, such as agriculture and rail. However, as economic conditions worsened, partially due to the end of the California Gold Rush, Chinese immigrants quickly became scapegoats for white unemployment. Portrayed in the media and news as ‘unassimilable’ and ‘cheap,’ they were subjected to systemic violence and actively vilified by labor unions. The attitudes led to the passage of discriminatory laws, notably the Page Act, and the multiple extensions of the Chinese Exclusion Act, which directly targeted Chinese immigrants. This research paper will explore how the media, civil society, and the state apparatus institutionalized the discrimination of Chinese immigrants, racializing the root economic and political causes of rising unrest and unemployment. The framing of Chinese immigrants as racially unassimilable and posing a threat to the white working class made them “easy” scapegoats during the economic downturn of the 1870s. However, it was long-standing racialized legal frameworks and cultural tropes that allowed decades of racial and religious prejudice to be solidified under the Chinese Exclusion Act.