In a speech in 1867, Frederick Douglass spoke to a crowd in Boston to advocate for the rights of Chinese immigrants to citizenship.

"I have said that the Chinese will come, and have given some reasons why we may expect them in very large numbers in no very distant future. Do you ask, if I favor such immigration, I answer I would. Would you have them naturalized, and have them invested with all the rights of American citizenship? I would. Would you allow them to vote? I would. Would you allow them to hold office? I would."

In 1894, Wong Kim Ark was denied entry back into San Francisco because his natural-born citizenship did not apply since his parents were ineligible for citizenship due to the Chinese Exclusion Act. He challenged the decision, which has set a precedent that still exists to this day. 

Due to a new law requiring permits to run a laundry business in a wooden building, laundry owner Yick Wo was denied a permit. He challenged how the law discriminated against Chinese business owners. The Supreme Court ruled in his favor that the 14th amendment must cover all people in the US, not just citizens. 

Due to discrimination, Chinese Americans were pushed into businesses that White men did not want. This led to many Chinese business owners of laundry services and restaurants, but they still faced opposition in the form of boycotts, racism, and targeted laws. 

In the instance of the boycott in Butte seen in the poster to the left, the Chinese business owners were able to successfully win their case in Hum Lay, et al. v. Baldwin to end the boycott on their restaurants. 

There were many riots before and after the Chinese Exclusion Act as anti-Chinese sentiment flared across the US. Some riots include: 

• Rock Springs Massacre (September 2-3, 1885)

• Attack on Squak Valley Chinese Laborers (September 7, 1885)

• Tacoma Riots (November 3, 1885)

• Seattle Riot (February 7, 1886)

The Chinese Massacre of 1871 in Los Angeles is the largest lynching in US history. A feud between two rival Chinese associations in Chinatown escalated to cause the death of a police officer. This created a mob that led the hanging least 17 Chinese people.

In 1885, a Chinese family was barred from enrolling their daughter Mamie Tape into a primary school due to a school board policy against admitting Chinese students. They sued the school and won, but California enacted a bill to create segregated schools for Chinese students.  It would not be until 1947 school segregation would be ruled unconstitutional. 

There were many policies against Chinese Americans and many agencies and commissioners enforced these policies harshly. In addition to policies, the general culture in the US at the time had many open references to anti-Chinese ideas. This poster on the right is an advertisement for a laundry product that includes racist depictions of Chinese Americans, who often ran laundry services at the time.