Which law restricted immigration to the United States for a specific ethnic group in the 1880s?

• A. Chinese Exclusion Act
• B. Immigration Act of 1907
• C. National Origins Act
• D. Gentlemen's Agreement

Answer: (A)

In the 1880s, the United States began using federal law to exclude a specific immigrant group based on ethnicity, highlighting how nativist sentiment and labor competition shaped policy. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 did exactly that: it barred Chinese laborers from entering the country for ten years (later extended and intensified by subsequent measures) and also restricted those already here from naturalizing. This was the first broad federal restriction aimed at a particular nationality, marking a shift toward excluding immigrants on ethnic grounds rather than welcoming all who sought to come. The other laws listed came later and did not target a single ethnic group in the 1880s: immigration regulation expanded in 1907, national-origin quotas appeared in 1924, and the Gentlemen’s Agreement with Japan was an early 20th-century, informal constraint rather than a law from the 1880s. Therefore, the Chinese Exclusion Act is the law that fits the scenario.