What date did the railroad tracks of the Transcontinental Railroad meet at Promontory Point, Utah?
May 10, 1869. On this date, the tracks of the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific met which connected the railroads from east to west for the first time. There were 1,500 people on hand to celebrate. Top of Page b. What was the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882? A law passed by the United States Congress which prohibited all Chinese laborers from entering the United States. During the economic depression of the 1870’s, some people of the United States began blaming the Chinese immigrants for failed businesses and lost jobs. As a result, the U.S. Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. Chinese laborers could not enter the United States, and Chinese men living in the U.S. could not send for their families. Single Chinese men had to return to China in order to marry because there were few single Chinese women living in the U.S. This law had a dramatic effect on the immigration rate. In 1882, 39,500 people immigrated from China, and in 1887, only ten people immigrated from China.
