Page Act of 1875

E90337

The Page Act of 1875 was a U.S. federal law that effectively curtailed immigration from China—especially of women—by targeting and excluding those stereotyped as prostitutes or forced laborers, laying groundwork for later Chinese exclusion policies.


Statements (46)
Predicate Object
instanceOf United States federal law
immigration law
appliesTo Asian immigrants
Chinese immigrants
associatedWith anti-Chinese sentiment in the United States
gendered immigration restrictions
racialized immigration control
consequence curtailed immigration from China
impeded family formation among Chinese immigrants in the United States
limited Chinese female immigration
reinforced stereotypes of Chinese women as prostitutes
country United States
dateEnacted 1875-03-03
disproportionateImpactOn Chinese families
Chinese women
enactedInYear 1875
enforcementLocation Pacific ports
ports of embarkation in Asia
era Reconstruction era
focusesOn Chinese women
followedBy Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
historicalSignificance considered first federal law restricting immigration based on race and gender stereotypes
laid groundwork for federal Chinese exclusion regime
influenced later Chinese exclusion policies
jurisdiction United States federal government
legalDomain immigration law of the United States
labor regulation
morality legislation
legalStatus repealed
legislativeBody United States Congress
method consular investigation of migrants
exclusion of women suspected of prostitution
screening at ports of departure
precededBy earlier state-level anti-Chinese measures
primaryGoal restrict immigration of contract laborers
restrict immigration of convicts
restrict immigration of prostitutes
regulates entry of contract laborers from Asia
entry of women suspected of immoral purposes
signedBy Ulysses S. Grant
subjectOf gender and migration research
scholarship on Asian American history
studies of U.S. immigration law
targets convict labor
forced labor
prostitution

Referenced by (2)

Please wait…