Asian Pacific American Heritage Month History Timeline

Timeline of Historical Events

1868 U.S. and China sign Burlingame-Seward Treaty, affirming friendship between the two nations and guaranteeing the right of Chinese immigration, since inexpensive Chinese labor was popular among railroads and other employers.
1869 The First Transcontinental Railroad in the U.S. is completed on May 10, 1869.
1880 As many people blamed the Chinese for taking away jobs and causing unemployment, the U.S. successfully amends the Burlingame Treaty, winning the right to limit or suspend Chinese immigration.
1898 U.S. annexes Hawaii on August 12, 1898. The Philippines becomes a U.S. territory after the Spanish-American War.
1903 First group of Korean immigrants enter Hawaii on January 13, 1903, to work as laborers on sugar plantations.
Filipino students arrive in U.S invited to attend colleges under the Pensionado program, an effort to modernize and democratize the Philippines.
1924 In response to concerns about rising immigration, Immigration Act of 1924 establishes strict quotas based on national origin according to the 1880 census, effectively ending Asian immigration.
«Previous   Next, Timeline 1942–1989»
two locomotives face each other for the ceremony
Completing the last link in the First Transcontinental Railroad with a spike of gold on May 10, 1869, the Union Pacific No. 119 and Central Pacific No. 60 locomotives were drawn up face-to-face on Promontory Summit, Utah for the ceremony.
Portrait of Olivia Salamanca
Olivia Salamanca was one of the
eight women of
more than 200 Filipino students that came to the U.S. in 1903 to study at colleges and universities under the pensionado program. Courtesy Smithsonian APA Program.
U.S. flag raised over Iolani Palace, Hawaii
The U. S. Flag raising at Iolani Palace after the annexation of Hawaii in 1898. Courtesy of the University of Hawaii at Manoa Library.