After the increased suppression of international slave trade during the mid nineteenth century, Chinese immigrants were frowned upon in America due to the fact that they were depicted as a threat to the U.S economy. As a result, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was passed and banished a vast majority of Chinese people in America. Based on the documents provided, it can be concluded that the Chinese Exclusion Act, despite being morally incorrect, was an inefficient ordinance that caused an abundance of controversy in America. Based on document A, during this time frame, there was a great amount of racist feelings towards the Chinese. This is shown in a play called “The Chinese Must Go” by Henry Grimm, which depicts the Chinese in a negative
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
In 1879 an anti-Chinese play was created by Henry Grimm; the point of the document was the problem of Chinese people taking over American jobs, this was written in San Francisco, CA. In 1879 there was an anti-Chinese sentiment, the railroad was completed, and a high number act of violence against the Chinese. The document targets the government figures and the America public. This document has a bias towards an argument against Chinese and the
In 1965, the last legal barrier to Chinese immigrants fell with the signing of a new law that ended immigration quotas based on race. In the 19th and early 20th centuries the story of the Chinese in America was primarily a legal drama, played out on the nation’s borders and in courts. After the new immigration law went into effect, it became a personal story told by one individual and by one family at a time.
Sui Sin Far’s short story, “In the Land of the Free” touches on the reality of being a Chinese immigrant in late-19th century America. The story revolves around a Chinese couple. The husband is ready for his wife, Lae Choo, to arrive from China with their new son, later named Kim. However, due to policies on immigration, the American government was forced to take possession of the child due to a lack of paperwork. However, Far’s short-story has a deeper meaning than just focusing on unfair immigration policies. She takes advantage of the story’s ending to symbolize a rejection of immigrant culture, most especially Chinese immigrant culture, by taking advantage of Kim’s change in behaviors, appearance, and dialect.
American citizens despised the Chinese workers because they worked very hard and followed instructions for very little pay, as stated in a speech given by a German immigrant on the Chinese exclusion act he said “It is almost impossible for a poor white servant girl to find employment in a white family. No! The mistress of the house wants a Chinaman. Why? He is very handy. She can say, ‘John Chinaman, do this’, and John does it, and John never says a word”. The white immigrants assumed that the Chinese were doing this to spite them and steal the jobs the white immigrants and American citizens thought they were entitled to. Another example of Americans and white immigrants accusing the Chinese of taking
One of the first significant pieces of federal legislation aimed at restricting immigration was the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which banned Chinese laborers from coming to America. Californians had agitated for the new law, blaming the Chinese, who were willing to work for less, for a decline in wages.The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was the first significant law restricting immigration into the United States. Those on the West Coast were especially prone to attribute declining wages and economic ills on the despised Chinese workers. Although the Chinese composed only .002 percent of the nation’s population, Congress passed the exclusion act to placate worker demands and assuage prevalent concerns about maintaining white “racial purity.”
Besides the Page Law, the Chinese exclusion act of 1882 affected the characteristics of Chinese immigrants the most. In 1882, Chinese people were excluded because they became a threat to American society. Under the Chinese exclusion act, the number of Chinese was decreased and the bachelor society was formed. The bachelor society was a reaction to the Chinese exclusion act and a shelter for Chinese people to live in. A great example of bachelor society is Chinatown. Because of the influence of the Chinese exclusion act of 1882, Chinese immigrants concentrated in Chinatown and had special characteristics. In Chinatown, the first characteristic of the Chinese immigrants were mostly men because Chinese women were excluded. Besides, most Chinese immigrants formed split households in Chinatown because the Chinese exclusion act prohibited the Chinese family unification and the interracial marriage between White and Chinese.
According to the documents, describing the cruel actions of wicked men who intended nothing but hate towards the Chinese and racist comments that targeted specifically the Chinese depicts the idea that the Chinese Exclusion Act should have not been implemented in the United States in the year of 1882. The Chinese were strongly discriminated just like the African American people. To start on with (Document A) about a play divided in four parts called “The Chinese Must Go” by Henry Grimm in 1879, shows of the stereotypes about the Chinese. This document is nothing else but mimicking or impersonating how the Chinese tend to speak English in America. Their English maybe be taken as broken English, another way to describe someone’s struggle to speak
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?
In the 1800s, after the Civil War (1861 to 1865), massive waves of new settlers migrated to the United States. May these were Chinese immigrants who sought to take advantage of the Gold Rush in California. Most of them were men, without family. Between that time, hundreds and hundreds of Chinese immigrants arrived, mostly in San Francisco, where they established a place called “Chinatown.” Establishing the place helped encouraged around four thousand Chinese women per year to immigrate to the United States, to be with their husband or father, helping Chinamen managing household. The gold attracted so many immigrants to California, and the desired for wealth attracted Southerners, who brought with them their racial attitude from the south. Work was well paying; a prejudice against Chinese was born. Hate and violence accompanied the competence against Chinese; and brutality against
In 1882, the U.S government passed the Chinese Exclusion Act to limit the immigration of Chinese people. This was because the Chinese immigrants had skills, and were able to do multiple tasks while getting paid in a low amount. This was beneficial for the owners, so this caused them to get hired easily and take over the jobs of other people in America. Americans will lose jobs because of this. According to document 1 a primary source it stated, “…Whereas, in the opinion of the government of the United States the coming of Chinese labors to this country endangers the good order of certain localities (areas) within the territory.” This means that the Chinese were strong enough to cause danger in the goods in areas, and take over/ affect the territory. They were that strong that even the government had to take this step. This act prevented Chinese labors to come to America for 10 years. According to the same document it stated, “ The ninety days after the passage of this act, and until the expiration of ten years next after the passage of this act, the coming of Chinese laborers to the united states be… suspended” This will prevent Americans to lose their jobs and also won’t over populate U.S. According to document 2, a cartoon analysis (secondary source) it shows a Chinese man with a lot of hands,
It is crucial to recognize the huge toll the Chinese Exclusion Act took on Chinese immigrants and Chinese Americans, and the negative influence of racialization it had on immigration policy of other countries. In this paper, I will discuss the consequences of the Chinese Exclusion Act on Chinese culture and society in the United States, regarding to the isolation of Chinese society in U.S., paper identities and lives of illegal Chinese immigrants and how this Act guided the establishment
The influences that contributed to the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 was nativism and racial prejudice against Chinese immigrants.
When thousands of Chinese migrated to California after the gold rush the presence caused concern and debate from other Californians. This discussion, popularly called the “Chinese Question,” featured in many of the contemporary accounts of the time. In the American Memory Project’s “California: As I Saw It” online collection, which preserves books written in California from 1849-1900, this topic is debated, especially in conjunction with the Chinese Exclusion Act. The nine authors selected offer varying analyses on Chinese discrimination and this culminating act. Some give racist explanations, but the majority point towards the perceived economic competition between
In the mid 19th century, America was viewed as a hotspot for freedom and wealth. When the noise of the gold rush flooded the world, immigrants started to see America more appetizing than ever. The Chinese saw America as a place to have a fresh start and as a place of refuge because of it’s generosity, so they immigrated to the west in great numbers. There was a large Chinese population in Virginia and all along the Pacific coast. Writers Mark Twain and Maxine Hong Kingston both wrote in great detail about the Chinese Immigrants. They went into detail about the immigrants and how they came over and why. Although Twain and Kingston both wrote about the immigrants in a positive light, Twain was sympathetic of the immigrants and Kingston focused more on their image and her ancestors.