In 1875, Congress approved the Page Act, supported by Californian congressman, Horace F. Page. It was expressed to keep sentenced criminals and prostitutes out of the US but Congress planned the law to bar Chinese women, reflecting the broadly held view that the majority of Chinese women coming to America were prostitutes or second wives in polygamous marriages. In determined and effect, the Page Act was the first of many Chinese exclusions laws. In 1877, a special joint congressional committee urged that the Chinese immigration be shortened by adjusting the Burlingame Treaty.
