Unlock California's Past: Rock the 2026 History Semester Practice Exam!

The Foreign Miner Tax, implemented in the mid-19th century during the California Gold Rush, was primarily designed to target non-U.S. citizens engaged in mining activities. This legislation disproportionately affected Chinese immigrants and, to a lesser extent, Mexican miners. By imposing a tax that foreign miners had to pay to work in the mines, the law effectively marginalized these groups, resulting in their exclusion from mining.

The tax acted as both a financial barrier and a mechanism to reinforce racial and economic discrimination within the mining community, thereby cementing the dominance of Anglo-American miners. It reflected broader societal attitudes of the time, which often relegated immigrant communities to a disadvantaged status in the public sphere and the economy. Consequently, option B accurately captures the essence of the Foreign Miner Tax's impact, highlighting the exclusionary nature of the policy toward these specific ethnic groups in the mining sector.