  thumb|upright|the first page of the chinese exclusion act the chinese exclusion act was a united states federal law signed by president chester a. arthur on may 6, 1882. it was one of the most significant restrictions on free immigration in us history, prohibiting all immigration of chinese laborers. the act followed revisions made in 1880 to the us-china burlingame treaty of 1868, revisions that allowed the us to suspend chinese immigration. the act was initially intended to last for 10 years, but was renewed in 1892 and made permanent in 1902. it was finally repealed by the magnuson act on december 17, 1943. ==background==   the first significant chinese immigration to north america began with the california gold rush of 1848-1855 and continued with subsequent large labor projects, such as the building of the first transcontinental railroad. during the early stages of the gold rush, when surface gold was plentiful, the chinese were tolerated, if not well received. as gold became harder to find and competition increased, animosity toward the chinese and other foreigners increased. after being forcibly driven from the mines, most chinese settled in enclaves in cities, mainly san francisco, and took up low end wage labor such as restaurant and laundry work.{{citation needed|date=february 20
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