The Chinese Exclusion Act was a United States federal law signed by President Chester A. Arthur on May 6, 1882, prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers. It was not repealed until December 17, 1943. I learned a lot about the Chinese Exclusion Act and the Chinese Expulsion when I visited the Washington State History Museum and the Tacoma Chinese Reconciliation Park not long ago. We have seen it happen over and over throughout history where the dominant group scapegoats a minority group, blaming them for all economic and social ills. So it was with the Chinese who were willing to work for lower wages, for longer hours, and under undesirable conditions. They looked different. Their clothes and customs and language were different. It was easy to pick on them.
In 1885, Mayor Weisbach called a mass meeting of Tacoma residents to "consider the Chinese question". The poster advertising the meeting was headed "The Chinese Must Go!". On October 3, a committee of fifteen local bigwigs were selected to notify all Chinese living in Tacoma that they must leave the city by the first of November. On the morning of November 3, a mob of almost 500 people went to every Chinese home and business to tell the people to pack and be ready for a wagon to come at 1:30 PM that day to take them away. Many of the men were armed with guns or clubs. Signage in the Chinese Reconciliation Park quoted a Tacoma merchant, Kwok Sue, who later testified: "The parties who notified us to go said if the Chinese did not leave, they were going to cut their throats, kill them and destroy their property." So, at 1:30 PM, the 150 to 200 Chinese who had not already left the city were rounded up (no mention of the promised wagon) and forced to march 8 miles to the Lake View train station in a heavy rain. They had to buy their own train tickets to Portland, and if they couldn't afford tickets, they rode in the boxcars of a freight train or walked the 140 miles along the rail grade. Two men died of exposure.
Another sign in the Chinese Reconciliation Park quoted Lum May, a prominent Chinese businessman: "I saw my countrymen marched out of Tacoma on November 3rd. They presented a sad spectacle. Some lost their trunks, some their blankets, some were crying for their things. Armed white men were behind the Chinese, on horseback sternly urging them on. It was raining and blowing hard. On the 5th of November, all the Chinese houses situated on the wharf were burnt down by incendiaries." On November 7, a ball was held by the city's German society to celebrate the expulsion. The Tacoma 27, as the group behind the expulsion were known (up from 15), were indicted on felony conspiracy charges. None were convicted.
There were people who supported the Chinese. Some refused to fire their Chinese workers. The mob went to their homes and businesses and took away the workers. Others spoke out. Signage in the park quotes the Reverend W D McFarland as his congregation walked out during his sermon opposing the expulsion of the Chinese from Tacoma: "Go! Go! I will preach on till the benches are empty."
Seattle had an even bloodier anti-Chinese riot, and again, at least one Church stood in support of the Chinese. This is from an article in Wikipedia: "In 1885, a sense of agitation against Chinese immigrant laborers arose in Seattle. President Grover Cleveland issued a proclamation instructing citizens to observe the rights of Chinese inhabitants. Sunday morning, February 7, Reverend Bates, pastor of Plymouth, and several other Plymouth members, joined the Home Guard in an attempt to protect Chinese immigrants during the Seattle riot of 1886." To learn more about the Seattle riot, here is a link to an excellent article in HistoryLink: https://www.historylink.org/file/2745.
For some supplementary reading, you could check out:
Dragon's gate / Yep, Laurence, J F YEP
Dragonwings / Yep, Laurence, J F YEP