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Chick Wo V. Court Case Summary

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In the city of San Francisco, California, of 1880, there was an ordinance passed; stating that all laundry businesses are required to be in brick buildings, not in wooden ones. Seemingly, it seems that the dictum was established because of the possible chances of fire hazards with wooden buildings. There were 240 laundry businesses out of commission, while 69 other laundry businesses, wooden ones, were able to stay afloat. Now, what’s the difference between the two? The major difference is that the 240 owners (that were arrested) were Chineses and the the 69 owners (the ones that should’ve been charged as well) were white. This led to the court case, Yick Wo V. Hopkins,when Yick Wo was arrested because of he voiced his opinions, petitioning …show more content…

It also guarantees the right of citizens to assemble peaceably and to petition their government.” In contrast, Lee and the other owners weren’t permitted this. To take a case in point, the “petitioner and 200 of his countrymen similarly situated petitioned the board of supervisors for permission to continue their business in the various houses which they had been occupying and using for laundries for more than twenty years, and such petitions were denied, and all the petitions of those who were not Chinese...were granted.” With this in mind, the Chinese weren’t even given a chance to have a permit; they were immediately denied because of their differences to the community’s majority. Across the country, many Chinese immigrants were blooming into successful businessmen; living the American dream of success and happiness. However, by doing so, it fueled the citizens’ resentment towards them. Furthermore, it led to many Americans to be clouded, permitting their emotions to rule their judgements over justice. To them, immigrants weren’t considered fully citizens, so they weren’t given the rights to freedom of expression. From America’s eyes, it wasn’t discriminating because it followed the bills of

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