Which law restricted immigration from a specific country in the late 19th century?

• A. Chinese Exclusion Act
• B. Quotas Act
• C. Naturalization Act
• D. Immigration Act of 1907

Answer: (A)

Laws that limit who can enter the country based on nationality were used in the late 1800s, and the best example is the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. This federal law specifically barred Chinese laborers from immigrating for ten years and set a precedent for targeting a particular nationality, reflecting strong anti-Chinese sentiment and labor fears on the West Coast. It was the first major national policy to restrict immigration by country of origin, signaling a shift toward race- and nationality-based controls that would influence later laws.

The other options don’t fit this question as neatly. A naturalization-related law focuses on who can become a citizen rather than who can immigrate, and a broad immigration act from the early 20th century broadens restrictions rather than aiming at one nationality. The term Quotas Act isn’t describing a late-19th–century, country-specific restriction, since the famous quota laws came later and dealt with overall limits rather than targeting a single nation.