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The First Immigrant
A 14 year old Japanese fisherman named Manjiro, who's boat got wrecked, was rescued and adopted by American Captain William Whitfield. -
The Gold Rush
Chinese miners flood into the United States following the discovery of gold in California. -
The Page Act of 1875
The Page Act of 1875 effectively blocks Asian women from entering the country and blocks Asian men from starting families. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
Signed into law by President Chester Arthur, the act bans Chinese workers from entering the country and prohibits Chinese Immigrants from American citizenship. -
Rock Springs Massacre
Angered that Asian Americans were taking their jobs, White miners attack chinese laborers in the Wyoming Territory. 28 are killed, 15 injured, and all the homes looted and set on fire. -
Angel Island Immigration Station
The "Ellis Island of the West" opens in the San Francisco Bay, 100,000 Chinese and 70,000 Japanese immigrants were processed through the immigration station over the next 30 years. -
Pearl Harbor and Internment Camps
The Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs and executive order that forces 120,000 Japanese Americans into Internment camps until the war ends. Under the impression that they could have played a part in the attack. -
Immigration and Nationality Act
President Lindon B. Johnson signs a new law which ends immigration policies based on ethnicity and race. More asian immigrants flood into the country. -
National Asian/ Pacific American Heritage Week
President Jimmy Carter announces that a week in may will be National Asian/ Pacific American Heritage Week. It is held every year since and eventually broadened to the entire month of May by President Bush. -
First in President's Cabinet
President Bill Clinton Swears in Norman Nimeta as the secretary of commerce. He is the first Asian American to serve in the President's cabinet.