My area of research deals almost exclusively to the Denver area. But I feel that the information I can share will shed at least some light on your question. Other Historians will likely be able to add more information than I provide here. The main sources I refer to here that deal with this subject are: 'Chinese emmigration into the United States 1850-1880' by Kil Young Zo, 'The Growth and Decline of Chinese Communities in the Rocky Mountain Region' by Rose Hum Lee, 'The Chinese In Colorado' by Gerald Rudolph, 'Asians in Colorado' by William Wei, and 'The Road to Chinese Exclusion: The Denver Riot,1880 Election and Rise of the West' by Liping Zhu. I also have read countless newspaper articles documenting early Pioneer Asian experiences and people.

As you had mentioned in your question, California passed anti Chinese laws starting in the early 1850s. Europans that had come to California had always looked at Asian pioneers with suspicion due to the vast differences in language and spiritual beliefs, but it was the labor issues that politicians used to champion the legal need for exclusion. When a law was passed in California that barred an Asian person from testifying in court, and therefore preventing them from having any legal protection or defending themselves in the court, they started to travel deeper into the country in high numbers. It appears as though about 35,000 were moving North, North East, and East in the mid 1850s. They were dotted throughout the Rocky Mountains with small camps for placer mining and small Corrals set up to offer goods to people headed to California. In the 1860s, with more Asians coming into the Country and the huge demand for labor in the new transcontinental railroad, labor tensions increased when Asians filled some of that need. Also their Community had grown bigger and stronger despite the outragous ordinances. The groups that would eventually become the "Chinese Six Companies" had already formed and were growing in strength. In the Rockies European miners were running into Chinese miners (though they might have seen that the other way around) and prospectors would clash. By 1870, with the Continental Railroad completed, limited mining oportunities, and the conclusion of a bloody war over slavery, the competition for employment was high all over the country. From California in the 1850s to the West in the 1860s, to throughout the Country during the 1870s, the call the "Chinese must go" was getting louder, and violent clashes escalated. The main complaint was that the Chinese were taking jobs that Europeans felt only Europans should have; this sentiment was accompanied by accusations of "heathenism" ("satanism" would be a proper modern day interperetation) and seduction of European youth and women through opium. Throughout this time the newspapers contain various stories of outrageous enequality shown to the Chinese pioneers, on one occasion a Chinese man is arrested for physically defending himself and in another "boys" shoot a Chinese man for fun and there is no repercussions whatsoever. During the 1870s in Colorado, there was an actual call for Asians to come to the Territory; here, railroads still needed building and mines still needed mining. Throughout the 70s our Asian population grew, holidays were shared together (Apparently Chinese New Year in lower downtown Denver was AWESOME), they traded with each other, Asians dominated the laundry business and the Asian community was credited with being one of the pillars of the gate to Colorado statehood. They were even encouraged to build a giant Joss house, which they did and its ruins still stand. They had their own towns in the mountains and worked thier own claims, Children were born and families begun.

Then came the election of 1880, the Anti Chinese position became a major topic and throughout 1880 the tone in Denver drastically changed. The Rocky Mountain News started printing virilunt articles about the Denver Chinese and by October Chinese in Denver were telling friends in other areas not to come here. Although both candidates were against immigration, Garfield was painted as being friendly to the Chinese.His rival, Hancock, had a campaign going from town to town with rallys and chants: " The Chinese Must Go". The month before the election a letter was "found" that "proved" Garfield was planning on recruiting Chinese labor that would take jobs away from Europeans. The letter was a fake, but it wasnt proven immidiately and rumors that the Chinese were going to swarm the country spread like wildfire. The week of the election there was a rally by torchlight in Denver and tension was at an all time high. the day after the rally a riot broke out in Denver that was decried across the nation. Garfield won the election but was assasinated the following year. During the time between the 1880 election and the exclusion act, the cry of "the Chinese Must Go" kept up, always with the same arguements about jobs, heathens, and opium. The Chinatown community in Denver was decimated. It did recover, but only to a certain extent.

I hope some of that helped answer your question, and I am sure there is more that others can add but if you would like to know more about Asian history in Denver I recently started a website:

https://www.wewattarow.com

I only have one post up so far, it is the account given by the Rocky Mountain News of the riot. I added maps and pictures. My next posting will be soon and it will talk about the Joss house that was built and which you can see in one of the pictures in the riot article ("Chinese headquarters" with the blue flag). Also,one of the books I mentioned "Chinese in Colorado" by Gerald Rudolph is one that is super rare. you can only find it in a few select libraries and even then it has to stay on property. I made a PDF copy of the one thats held in the western history reference section of the DPL and its available for download in the "library" section of my website. I hope to make pdf copies of Rose Hum Lee's and Kil Young Zo's books available before New Year as they are rare as well.

Again, I hope I provided some worthwhile info, and if I can answer or clarify anything, please let me know.