Anti-Asian Sentiment in Early 20th Century America

Historian Daryl Joji Maeda called the The Asian American movement “a multiethnic alliance comprising of all ethnicities by drawing on the discourses and ideologies of the Black Power and anti-war movements in the United States as well as decolonization movements around the globe.” By the 1960s, a new generation, less attached to the ethnic differences that plagued Asian immigrant groups, began to grow and work together. The black and white binary race treatment in the US alienated Asian-Americans as an other, causing some to begin their own rally for Asian-American civil rights.

Around the mid-19th to the 20th century, myriads of immigrants flocked to the U.S. seeking better job opportunities,or searching for religious freedom. U.S. citizens were fearful, envious, and willing to exclude immigrants who came to the US as they were viewed as an economic threat to the society. They believed that these immigrants were racially, morally and intellectually inferior to them and as such did not see or treat as their equals. These dysfunctions lead to severe and harsh treatment of immigrants. Historically, the three major immigrant groups that faced the most discrimination during this era were the Asians, German, and the Irish. American citizen’s fear of job secureness led to the resentment and discriminatory treatment towards Asian Immigrants. They believed that the majority of the Asian American immigrants were taking too many of their jobs. As such, the U.S. government decided that it would be necessary to restrict the amount of Asian Americans, in order to keep the U.S. citizens from being unemployed. The U.S. government passed numerous laws, banning Asian American immigrants from the United States. One distinct law that they passed was the 1922 Cable Act, this law “stripped a female citizen of citizenship, if she married an alien unable to become a citizen.”(Lutz 7).The law was basically passed to prevent Asian immigrants from obtaining citizenship by marrying a female U.S citizen.In fact, the government believed that female citizens that engaged in this

The 14th Amendment played a large role in the way we perceive today’s society. Being that the beginning of the 14th Amendment states “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside”, the intent of the 14th Amendment is to stop the granting of automatic citizenship of new born babies in the United States. Those babies were born by illegal mothers which deems them to be considered as illegal immigrants. The reason why immigration is bad is due to immigrants taking control of the resources that were meant for Americans to use; such as jobs, free health benefits, education benefits, free housing and much more, thus triggering the start of the 14th Amendment. Aside from immigration, another motive for the 14th Amendment was due to other states violating United States citizens’ rights. In the case

The Fourteenth Amendment was ratified in 1868 and the amendment was put in place to protect former slaves and their rights in life. The most important part of the amendment reads, “No state shall ‘deprive a person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; nor deny to any person… the equal protection of the laws.’” This simple statement has one of the most profound and incredible parts of the United States today. The equal protection of the laws show that there must be equal treatment for all citizens regardless of race, class, or gender. Although there has been many racial events happening after this amendment was passed this clause still stands to today and has helped shape the United States for the better. Having this clause in the Fourteenth Amendment protects the ‘little guy’ and makes sure that everyone has the same ability to do whatever everyone else is doing.

The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is commonly regarded as a major victory against racism that further advanced democracy in America. Adopted on July 9, 1868, it attempted to transform the oppressive culture of the Confederacy by granting citizenship rights to all people born or naturalized in the United States and affording equal protection under the law to all U.S. citizens. Nonetheless, in spite of aiming to put an end to discrimination against African-Americans and other minority groups, this important amendment did not entirely succeed in eradicating racism during the Reconstruction era.

Millions of immigrants over the previous centuries have shaped the United States of America into what it is today. America is known as a “melting pot”, a multicultural country that welcomes and is home to an array of every ethnic and cultural background imaginable. We are a place of opportunity, offering homes and jobs and new economic gains to anyone who should want it. However, America was not always such a “come one, come all” kind of country. The large numbers of immigrants that came during the nineteenth century angered many of the American natives and lead to them to blame the lack of jobs and low wages on the immigrants, especially the Asian communities. This resentment lead to the discrimination and legal exclusion of immigrants,

When learning information about important facts, dates, and the influential people who made up U.S. history, I do not remember learning much of anything regarding the Irish, Chinese, or Japanese. Well, except for Pearl Harbor and the U.S. retaliating against Japan by dropping atomic bombs. I definitely learned that people from around the world immigrated by boat across vast amounts of ocean for a chance to thrive in the land of freedom called America. I learned that millions of people entered through Ellis Island in the late nineteenth century, looking upon the Statue of Liberty, in hopes of finding their right to life, liberty, and happiness. I learned that the majority of these people were stricken of their identities and provided new American names that were easier to pronounce. I did not however, learn about the great discrimination and hardship that these people suffered at the hands of white Americans. The major theme presented is labor discrimination, unequal and unfair pay, long hours, and harsh working and living environments in regards to the Mexican Americans, Chinese, and Japanese. Takaki (2008) paints a vivid picture of discrimination and suffering of the people known as the “others” living and working in the multicultural “melting pot” United States, in his book A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America.

Imagine living in a world where everyone was considered equal. Imagine living in a world where people were considerate of others. Imagine living in a world where everyone had the same rights and privileges. The Framers took a step at achieving this world with the passage of the 14th amendment. The intent of the 14th amendment was to prevent state governments from denying African Americans in the U.S. from their citizenship. At the time Africans were unable to attain citizenship because of their skin color. The Framer’s objective in formulating the 14th amendment was to grant citizenship to everyone born in the U.S., regardless of skin color. The 14th amendment expanded the protection of civil rights to all citizens in America.

Although the primary aim was to secure citizenship for African Americans, the debates on the citizenship provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the Fourteenth Amendment indicate that they were intended to extend U.S. citizenship to all persons born in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction regardless of race, ethnicity or alienage of the parents. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 declared that “all persons born in the United States and not subject to any foreign power, excluding Indians not taxed, are hereby declared to be citizens of the United

The 14th Amendment also gave Congress authority to enforce this amendment which led to the passage of the Landmark Legislation in the 20th century including the Civil Rights and Voting Act. These two Acts eventually granted Blacks, Women and others their

Constitution. This amendment was to help African Americans with citizens rights and equal representation. The U.S Constitution stated that the 14th amendment said “all person born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.” The 14th amendment provided African Americans that was born in the United States equal citizenship with other natives in the U.S. It also limited the power of states that they could not take away the rights of the citizens of the United States.

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

During the early twentieth century, the United States was enduring significant social and economic changes due to its transformation into a commercial and industrial world power. As the need for labor escalated within many urban areas, millions of Europeans emigrated from Southern and Eastern Europe with the hopes of capitalizing upon these employment opportunities and attaining a better life. Simultaneously, many African-Americans migrated from the rural South into major cities, bearing the same intentions as those of the European immigrants. The presence of these minority groups generated both racial and class fears within white middle and upper class Americans. The fervent ethnocentrism resulting from these fears,

Look around you and notice that everyone has something hidden. That something cannot be seen with the eye like a physical object, but more of something buried down deep in the roots. History books mention the founding of the United States of America and how everything started in this country. But there has always been a big part excluded out of the books. Most of them talk about the Americans, but what about the Asian Americans who have contributed to this country? They had to go through harsh discrimination and unfair laws and rules. Asian Americans have a history that has been untold. Everything has been buried because their voices cannot be heard. Look around you again and move around. Objects may look different or you may even see other

Asian Americans make up 17.3 million, or 5.6 percent, of the U.S. population. Asian Americans have a wide range of ethnic groups like the Chinese, Japanese, Filipinos, Koreans, Vietnamese, Indians, etc. They have served in the military, have made headway into the business sector in recent years and their education and their wealth for its community varies widely. They have also been part of the Civil Rights Movement during in the 1960s alongside the African Americans and the Hispanic Americans. Unfortunately, most Americans were oblivious to the racial discrimination against Asian Americans, even though they have contributed to the Civil Rights Movement and have had to deal with racial discrimination and its issues such as immigration.