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Whether or not the United States is a melting pot—a mixing of diverse racial and ethnic groups—has long been the subject of debate. One challenge to this metaphor arose in the late 1800s, when a movement developed to stop the influx of Chinese laborers. Congress responded by passing the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. This act and the ensuing legislation that lengthened and strengthened its provisions legitimated the exclusion of a particular group from this country based on race and ethnicity.