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President Lincoln signs an Act to Prohibit "Coolie" Trade.

Date: 1862

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The act outlaws any “shipment” of Chinese people (referred to by the racist moniker “coolies”) to be "held in service or labor.” Another section of the law leaves the door open to Chinese migration, proclaiming that: "any free and voluntary emigration of any Chinese subject should proceed unabated so long as a U.S. consul attested to the voluntary status of the migrant through a written certificate" (ProCon.org).