Chinese Exclusion

The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was influential in history because of its negative effect on US-China relations, how it unfairly discriminated against Chinese laborers, and because of its major role in establishing the current United States quota system. The harm done to US-China relations is evidenced by a plethora of political documents, statements from politicians, and the American attempt to make amends during World War II. Unfair discrimination against immigrated Chinese workers was obvious during that time because the laborers did not have a fair chance in the capitalist business world, and were greatly prejudiced by the

The Chinese exclusion act was a movement that prohibited Chinese immigration; people used it as a discrimination against Chinese people. In one year Chinese immigration dropped from 40,000 to 23. This shows how people where violent and discriminant to Chinese fellows.

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 the late 1800s, America passed a fierce act due to the rising tension between the Chinese immigrants and whites. Chinese immigrants were troubled with biased laws and stereotyping. The Chinese Exclusion Act was one of these law. It... The immigrants were stereotyped as barbarians, anti-christian, anti-white, or as slaves. They were called heathens, racial slurs, and much worse; and the Chinese were seen as idolaters, the lowest, and the vilest. Some may argue they were taking over jobs because of how they were willing to work for less. But ultimately, the most influential factor in why Americans passed the Chinese Exclusion Act was racial prejudice toward the Chinese.

But the Chinese were considered inferior and the Anglo Saxon American didn’t understand their religion. Subsequently with the “Chinese Exclusion Act” of 1882 new Chinese immigrants were severely limited to coming to America until the 1940’s. As the “Chinese Exclusion Act” prevented the Chinese from immigrating to America from 1882 to 1943. Once the Chinese were denied immigration in 1882, their agricultural jobs in California were quickly filled with Japanese and Mexican immigrants, eventually dominated by the Mexican migrant worker, still today agriculture in the United States is mostly harvested off the backs of the Mexican migrant worker. Many immigrants coming to America today arrive with the dream that they can work hard and earn a decent living, eventually owning their own slice of the American pie called, “The Home.” Immigration reform present day revolves around closing our borders, mainly the border with Mexico, as you read this paper new sections

In 1882 the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed by Congress. This act exiled Chinese laborers from arriving in the United States. This was the first time ever that a specific ethnicity was banned from immigrating to the U.S.A. Racism against the Chinese was strong, so the ban remained for ten years, but was eventually made “permanent”. However, China soon became a war ally in World War II, so the ban was repealed in 1943.

On May 6th, 1882, the United States Congress passed the first racially restrictive immigration bill in American history. Known as the Chinese Exclusion Act, it supposedly only prohibited Chinese laborers from entering the U.S., allegedly for a ten year span; but ten years passed and the Act was renewed, and another ten years later, it was permanently instated in 1902. The Exclusion Act executed its intended purpose; due to a clause within the Act that specified both “skilled and unskilled” laborers were to be kept out and the refusal of the government to re-admit already settled immigrants who left the country for even the shortest amount of time, the Chinese population within the U.S. dipped rapidly as nearly every Chinese would-be immigrant was denied entry.1

During the 1870’s to 1930’s, large numbers of Chinese immigrants came to the United States in search of a successful life for themselves and generations to come. Although some immigrants found it possible to Americanize, the extent to which the vast majority of Chinese immigrants in California preserved the cultural traditions of their homeland was much greater than that of assimilation. This outcome was due to the fact that they were logically more inclined to place themselves within ethnic enclaves after coming to a land of unfamiliarity, but they were also pressured and outcast as aliens under several legal acts and extremely discriminating prejudice from original Americans.

Before the war, Chinese Americans were known as non-citizen immigrants who aren’t allow to go back to visit China. They can’t bring their spouse over from China or marry Americans legally. If an American woman marry a non-citizen Chinese man, she would lose her citizenship. The Chinese communities in the United States were fill with single men with no children. But due to the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire, it destroyed all the immigrants and birth records. This incident allow many Chinese to fraudulently say that they were born in San Francisco and that makes them US citizens. (Sasaki) Later on, the congress began to consider to repeal for the Chinese Exclusion Act. Madame Chiang Kai-shek took a tour to the U.S. and spoke to several congressmen

While the Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed long ago, it remains as the first act to single out an ethnic group of people and ban them from immigrating into the United States. In a Washington Post article by Yana Wang, she states, “Within a decade, its campaign succeeded, contributing to President Chester Arthur’s 1882 signing of the Chinese Exclusion Act: the first federal law to exclude a specific ethnic group from immigrating to the country” (washingtonpost.com). Racism and segregation has existed in America for a long time, and many laws have been passed that discriminate against different races, but this act is still unprecedented. It openly named an ethnic group and excluded them from citizenship, a blatantly racist act that led to the

While African Americans in the South were struggling with oppression, violence, and racism, the Chinese on the West Coast were dealing with the Chinese Exclusion Act, banning them from immigrating. Many came to the US to support their families back in China or to make a living. They were very humble and did honest and diligent work, so why would the United States agree to pass the act in the first place? The exclusion act was passed because of the cheap labor the Chinese offered, as well as being seen as different due to their diverse customs and appearance.

The Chinese Exclusion Act is unfair to Chinese, because it destroyed their hopes to seek a better life. The 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act “defined excludables as skilled and unskilled labors and Chinese employed in mining. Thus very few Chinese could enter the country under the 1882 law” (Chinese Exclusion Act, 1882, P1).The law proscribing Chinese “skilled or unskilled” labors entering in the U.S. is unfair, because everyone should have the equal rights to pursuit the wonderful and free life. If Chinese people are more qualified or capable than their competitors to take some jobs in the U.S., they should have rights to live in their dream country. Before the Act was started, Chinese immigrants were seriously discriminated. First, most of Chinese immigrants were only afforded menial avocations and earned the low wages. Furthermore, unlike negro slave of the South, who was housed and fed, Chinese only got the white trash (low social class and degraded living standards) of California. Later, however, when Chinese were popular in American labor market, the unfair

When the chinese immigrants came to america it was divided into three periods. 1849-1882, 1882-1965, and 1965. The first period began shortly after the california gold rush. The chinese left their country to work in the gold mines, but they also wanted to take over agricultural jobs. They wanted to build railroads in the american west. As the labor grew they became used to their own rights. As soon a more chinese came to america the U.S started to dislike them even more. The americans finally made an exclusion act called the Chinese Exclusion act. The Americans thought if they made this act then it would help limit the Chinese people. And it did. If the chinese wanted to move to america then they had to send money back to China to help support their families. By doing this it left them very

The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was passed while President Chester Arthur was in office. It was the first law in the United States that restricted immigrants with a detailed agenda. However, before the act was passed, there were limitations against the Chinese already growing with legislatures and previous treaties.

The Exclusion Act put restrictions on free immigration for 10 years. The Chinese had to receive a certificate to enter the United States. To get the certificate, you had to be “competent” to enter and that was hard to prove. If they broke this requirement, the Chinese were imprisoned and then deported. Even the California Governor saw this was wrong and stated, “the most valuable immigrants, barred from the United States.” But he didn’t do anything to oppose the bill, in fact no one did. The Chinese couldn’t oppose the bill because they weren’t citizens, which in turn meant they couldn’t vote and had no power to influence decisions. They also had no friends in Congress. The only people allowed to enter were teachers, students, merchants, and