Anyone from China was already excluded and had been since 1882. They were restricted because there had been a boom of Chinese immigration following the civil war. Particularly Californians were unhappy to see so many Chinese people populating the West and had pushed through through the ban.
This left only the Japanese (and Koreans) as valid Asian immigrants, largely because of lobbying by Hawaiian plantations who valued Japanese agricultural workers. When the next round of immigration restriction was passed, in 1924, they were finally banned as well. The other Asian group that was potentially exempted from the 1917 ban was the Philippines, but they were only allowed to exempt themselves from the act by passing certain legislation congress wanted in the Philippines. Basically, congress blackmailed the Philippines into accepting legislation affecting them. Which is interesting as the Philippines were functionally a US colony at the time.
Also barred were idiots, imbeciles, feeble-minded, epileptics, alcoholics, paupers, beggars, vagrants, anyone with tuberculous (or other “loathsome” diseases), anyone who was mentally or physically “defective,” felons, polygamists, anarchists, prostitutes, procurers of prostitutes, unskilled workers, and unaccompanied minors (under 16).
Excluded from the restrictions were government officials, ministers, missionaries, lawyers, physicians, chemists, civil engineers, teachers, students, authors, artists, merchants, and tourists (and their accompanying wives and children under 16). One could also apply to the Secretary of Labor to demonstrate that you had a unique skill that also justified the granting of an exemption.
There was also a new literacy test and a whole bunch of other stuff. The whole act is 25 pages long. While it included an Asian exemption, it really should be seen as a broad attempt at immigration reform. Many of the basic concepts of modern US immigration were created by the 1917 act.
Does anyone know the specific reasoning given at the law?
Fundamentally? Racism.
Anyone from China was already excluded and had been since 1882. They were restricted because there had been a boom of Chinese immigration following the civil war. Particularly Californians were unhappy to see so many Chinese people populating the West and had pushed through through the ban.
This left only the Japanese (and Koreans) as valid Asian immigrants, largely because of lobbying by Hawaiian plantations who valued Japanese agricultural workers. When the next round of immigration restriction was passed, in 1924, they were finally banned as well. The other Asian group that was potentially exempted from the 1917 ban was the Philippines, but they were only allowed to exempt themselves from the act by passing certain legislation congress wanted in the Philippines. Basically, congress blackmailed the Philippines into accepting legislation affecting them. Which is interesting as the Philippines were functionally a US colony at the time.
Also barred were idiots, imbeciles, feeble-minded, epileptics, alcoholics, paupers, beggars, vagrants, anyone with tuberculous (or other “loathsome” diseases), anyone who was mentally or physically “defective,” felons, polygamists, anarchists, prostitutes, procurers of prostitutes, unskilled workers, and unaccompanied minors (under 16).
Excluded from the restrictions were government officials, ministers, missionaries, lawyers, physicians, chemists, civil engineers, teachers, students, authors, artists, merchants, and tourists (and their accompanying wives and children under 16). One could also apply to the Secretary of Labor to demonstrate that you had a unique skill that also justified the granting of an exemption.
There was also a new literacy test and a whole bunch of other stuff. The whole act is 25 pages long. While it included an Asian exemption, it really should be seen as a broad attempt at immigration reform. Many of the basic concepts of modern US immigration were created by the 1917 act.