Angel Island is called “the Ellis Island of the West”. Angel Island was supposed to be a beacon of hope for many immigrants; who were wished to start a new life in the United States. These immigrants wished to achieve their own “American Dream”. Angel island did not live up to its name expectation of being a welcoming utopian paradise for immigrants. Angel Island had a plethora of people from many nationalities go through its doors. Yet, the immigration station becomes a “home” from many immigrants, using home in the loosest sense of the word. Over half a million people passed through the doors of the Western immigration station, but immigration officials detained a significant number of individuals. The population with the largest amount …show more content…
Out of this large number, a high number of dentitions occurred; seventy percent or about 300,000 of the immigrants who arrived at Angel Island were detained. Erika Lee and Judy Young break down that statistic, “100,000 Chinese, 85,000 Japanese, 8,000 South Asians, 8,000 Russian and Jews, 1,000 Koreans, 1,000 Filipinos, and 400 Mexicans,” The diverse population of the immigration station was quite difficult to meet. At Angel Island’s peak, there could be over thirty nationalities; who all spoke different languages. Adequate interpreters were sparse at the immigration station, this exacerbated the detention time. Angel Island ran during an immigration era of exclusion, particularly the Chinese. The Chinese Exclusion Act became law in 1882. The exclusion act prohibited the hiring of Chinese workers. Although Angel Island was allowed hire employees of Asian descent because there were not white proficient enough for these positions. These factors set a particular polemical situation for the immigrations coming to Angel Island.
Secondly, there was a major difference between the risk of detention at Angel Island for Chinese and Russia Jewish immigrant. Chinese immigrants had a significantly higher rate of detention than other groups especially, Russian Jews. Non-Chinese immigrants had a higher proclivity of avoiding passage to Angel Island to gain access to the United States. Out of the
The United States has had tension with Asian immigrants since the first wave of migration in the 1840’s, and in 1882 the United States declared a Chinese Exclusion which was to keep all Chinese from migrating into the United States. For the Chinese already in the U.S this created worry and tension. With the Chinese people no longer being welcome the freedom for the Chinese inside which was already not much was even more condensed. The little equality that they had was taken away and they were excluded, and looked down upon everywhere they went. They had trouble living and socially because of the prejudice they were facing. An example of the Chinese struggle before the exclusion act would be the Chinese Lynching that took place in 1871. In Los Angeles a mob captured men and in this case a 12 year old boy and hung them all at a Spanish hacienda because of the citizens strong discrimination against
Immigration in the United States is a complex demographic activity that has been a major contribution to population growth and cultural change throughout much of the nation's history. The many aspects of immigration have controversy in economic benefits, jobs for non-immigrants, settlement patterns, crime, and even voting behavior. Congress has passed many laws that have to do with immigrants especially in the 19th century such as the Naturalization Act of 1870, and the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, or even the Immigration Act of 1903 all to insure specific laws and boundaries set on immigrants. The life of immigrants has been drastically changed throughout the years of 1880-1925 through aspects such as immigrants taking non-immigrants
As a result of the growing tensions, the state of California democrats sought to exclude the Chinese from immigrating (para 4). Most of their measures were unsuccessful, but the legislative attempts were a clear sign of the times, and an indication that even if they were “allowed” to come to America, the people would do whatever they could to make the experience unbearable. Eventually, in 1882, the
Immigrants needed money to come to America. Sometimes they would get their money from 'loan sharks'. Loan sharks are unlicensed lenders who will lend you money when no one else will. They often target unemployed people, immigrants, or lone parents. The loan sharks would lend the immigrants money and they would recollect it along with a little profit from interest. Other times immigrants would get money from family already living here. Ellis Island could be heaven for one family, and hell for another. Many people were sent out, no matter what their age. Families were broken apart because some members would be sent back, and some were allowed to stay.
The Chinese Experience records the history of the Chinese in the United States. The three-part documentary shows how the first arrivals from China, their descendants, and recent immigrants have “become American.” It is a story about identity and belonging that is relative to all Americans. The documentary is divided into three programs, each with a focus on a particular time in history. Program 1 describes the first arrivals from China, beginning in the early 1800’s and ending in 1882, the year Congress passed the first Chinese exclusion act. Program 2, which details the years of exclusion and the way they shaped and distorted Chinese American
In 1882 the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed, and Alien Contract Labor Laws of 1885 and 1887 prohibited certain laborers from immigrating to the United States. " Immigration Act of 1882 levied a head tax of fifty cents on each
The earliest inhabitants of Angel Island were the Coast Miwok Indians, who visited often through the use of handmade tule boats. They lived in temporary houses made of branches and tule, and many of them enjoyed fishing and hunting. From 1863 to 1946, the island was an United States army base which was previously declared as a military reserve on January 1850. During World War II, German and Japanese prisoners of war were detained. Angel Island had its first detention camp as a result of the Spanish-American War, holding captured soldiers and American Indians. Because of the diseases that were prevalent during the 1890's, a quarantine station was built to inspect and occasionally disinfect ships from foreign areas. The station was a success — having a staff that took responsibilities for different objectives including deporting persons with diseases such as the yellow fever, gonorrhea, and trachoma.
Immigration has been a topic for heated discussions for many years. However, no one has really ever looked into what immigration actually is or how hard it is for the people trying to immigrate. In the common reader we are given an insight to what immigration is, and the risks that follow.
Chinese Exclusion Act was a law that passed by Congress on May 6 of 1882, that halted the immigration of the Chinese laborers for a span of 10 years and denied neutralization to the existing Chinese in the United States. Following an economic crisis in the late 19th century that left many without jobs and slowed down the expansion of the Western States, many Chinese immigrants laborers were blamed for the falling of wages and lack of employment opportunities. The Chinese laborer faced violence, social isolation, and discriminatory laws that was included in the passage of the exclusion act. Although the act had little effect on the U.S’s economy beyond the Chinese community, it set a lasting effect for immigration policy, it was the first U.S law the refusal to admit members of a specific ethnic group or nationality. Since Chinese immigration was helping the U.S’s economy bloom. Why the sudden stop of only one ethnic group coming to the U.S? What social, economic, and political caused the Chinese Exclusion Act?
Many immigrants came into the United States during the nineteenth century; some of them being Chinese. They came here through Angel Island to find better lives than in China, but it did not work out that way for most. These people faced much discrimination in this new country, such as working cheap jobs and being treated unfairly, but eventually they began trying to conquer these unfair acts towards them.
The 1890s to the 1920s was the first time that the federal government was taking a real stand and control over immigration policies. It also saw the two greatest waves of immigration in the country’s history. War, poverty, political turmoil, social upheaval, food shortages, lack of available jobs and more prompted people from foreign countries to move to the United States because it was the land of dreams and prosperity. After the depression of the 1890s immigration jumped from 3.5 million to 9 million in a ten year period. By 1900, New York City had as many Irish residents as Dublin and more Italians than any city outside Rome and more Poles than any city except Warsaw. It had more Jews than any other city in the world, as well as large amount of Slavs, Lithuanians, Chinese, and Scandinavians (Collier). The government began to limit these new immigrants. From 1882 until 1943 most Chinese immigrants were barred from entering the United States under the Chinese Exclusion Act, the nation’s first law to ban immigration by race or nationality. In 1892, Ellis Island was opened in New York evaluate immigrants before allowing them to enter the United States. On the West Coast, Angel Island, a similar immigrant station opened near San Francisco. World economies slowed and other problems occurred that caused people to become desperate for work and a fresh start.
Ellis Island and Angel Island presented an opportunity for success. People that wouldn't normally have a chance to succeed got to come to America and start a new life. Carl L Bankston talks about the travel to Ellis Island, “Doctors took one glance while immigrants go to the second floor. This was known as the "Six-Second exam" (Bankston, Carl L, 179). Rebman also talks about Coded Chalk Marks, she says, “A chalk mark drawn on the shoulder of an immigrant’s jacket or on his lapel indicated a wide variety of abnormalities. This system of coded chalk marks quickly identified immigrants needing further examination. Illness and medical problems were the most frequent causes of deportation. More than a dozen letters were used to indicate possible problems; for example, B: back, CT: trachoma, E: eyes, H: heart, L: lameness, Pg: pregnancy, Sc: scalp, X: suspected mental illness (a circled X meant definite signs of mental disease had been observed)” (Rebman, 24).
The government targeted the Asian Americans as a threat. As Takaki asserted, “Unlike European immigrants, Asians were also victimized by the institutionalized racial discrimination of public policies.” These policies include the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the National Origins Act of 1924. The social image of America can clearly be seen as only “whites” when the government institute policies to encourage European women to arrive to America so the immigrants can form families, while Asian women were barred the entry to prevent families to form
Within modern society when a character strays away from what society depicts as morally right, the individual is frowned upon as if he or she doesn't belong. In “Angels in America” a gay fantasia on National themes, characters struggle to be themselves upon fear of whether or not society will accept them as an individual. The characters not only struggles with whether or not society will accept them, but they also struggle with their inner demons, and ultimately the question of what is truly good or evil. In this paper several characters will be analyzed and discussed from several different viewpoints.
As Immigrants would come through Ellis Island and other places with a gleaming amount of hope, they would experience something totally different on the other side. Inside the US was this feeling of Anglo-Saxon superiority and therefore immigration was frowned upon in may areas. An immigration officer from this time period cited “early economic opportunity came to an end” as one of the major things that affected immigrant life. They [immigrants] were left to find day jobs working at the first opportunity that presented itself and then return to the tenement. Out of this pattern grew an extreme feeling of isolation. Immigrants lived in their own communities, socialized with their own, and slept with their own. Nativist feelings from the american-born community were real and present and ultimately the belief was to sleep, eat, and work for someone else and be content.