For centuries, America has been one to pride itself on the freedom and opportunity that lies within our borders, and it is these set of values that truly make our nation resonate as one of the most opportunistic societies of the world. Yet, America still exhibits the qualities that once prevented us from moving forward as a nation; racism, bigotry, and above all, fear of the unknown, and these obstacles are still shown to plague our society today.
Remembering our nation’s past encounter with fear of the unknown, America had combatted the illusive, nonconforming nature of the Chinese immigrants with the sweeping judgment of keeping those they were uncomfortable with out of their borders, resulting in one of the very first discriminatory laws
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Though it is understandable that we must put the wellbeing of our citizens before others, which is the reasoning behind our newly erected immigration laws, who is to say that these immigrants and refugees won’t someday be significant members of our society? Drawing from the results of the Chinese Exclusion Act, it is evident that though Chinese members of the industry were discriminated against, large numbers of Chinese and Chinese-Americans today are contributing greatly to our society, which can be said of all other racial and ethnic groups that were simply not given the opportunities they deserved. With the brunt of the new immigration policy on the backs of every immigrant-background American, we are more frightened than ever that people of the same background as our families won’t receive the opportunities we so fortunately have. This concern should unprecedented, but our current situation is dire. The outcome of these immigration policies cannot be foreseen in entirety, but one thing is certain: much like the result of excluding Chinese immigrants in the past, regulating immigration to this degree will only cause us to deprive ourselves of an ultimately more successful America. Our nation once stood out as a country of opportunity. Let’s once again await those in need with open arms, and it can be guaranteed that eventually, America will be great
The United States is looked at by the rest of the world as a country of chances, a place where it doesn’t matter who you are or where you came from. In reality, however, it’s quite different. Many say that America the Great will always be divided. Despite being an improbable idea, it is possible for the U.S to succeed by seeing the problems with division and clash, and allowing the benefits of unity to outweigh its own prejudices.
In the late 1800’s, Chinese immigrants were largely discriminated against in America. Considering the past, and the way white Americans have treated anyone different from them, it’s no surprise they treated these immigrants with disdain. The Chinese Exclusion Act was a law passed in 1882 to stop the influx of Chinese people immigrating into America. Two huge factors in passing the law was that the Chinese were viewed as lower class barbarians and were seen as anti-white. Some say the law was passed due to the economic tensions between the Chinese and whites, however this is false.
In “Chinese Immigrant Lee Cew Denounces Prejudice in America, 1882”, we read the account of Chinese immigrant Lee Chew who, writing in 1882, finds himself discontented with the treatment he endures as an immigrant from China. Lee Chew’s experience was not unique; the Chinese immigration experience was one that was marked by discrimination and general exploitation. However, this pattern of discriminatory behavior was much more comprehensive than being directed at a specific race, and the Chinese experience is controvertible with the immigrant experience at large. Prejudice and discrimination in
Over time many factors have been a part of molding the immigration policy that we know and hold true to. Not just one argument caused the view we see threw when pondering immigration, but many have settled their opinions into our policy. One of the many arguments used was the argument against the Chinese and how they were so-called dangerous. Horace Davis states, “The experience of other nations who have permitted Chinese immigration and showed you that wherever it has been allowed the same unvarying features mark their presence, and that after centuries of contact with other people in the islands of the East Indies their race peculiarities are just distinct as they are today in California; so that our only hope lies in a law restricting their
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,
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
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
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.”
In the late 1800’s Europeans took over Africa, took their resources,enslaving the Africans, and changed the course of history. The Europeans took over Africa, which is called The Scramble For Africa, in 1884-1914. The Europeans took over because Africa was rich in raw materials, they wanted power, and they thought their culture was superior. The driving force behind imperialism was need for resources, political competition, and technological advances. One driving force behind imperialism was need for natural resources. Document E uses a bar graph to show imports and exports in 1854, and 1900 between Great Britain and South Saharan Africa. Great Britain made 3 million British pounds in 1854, and 21
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?
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
Along with its economic classes, American is known for its freedom, its liberty, and the melting pot of ethnicity. This ethnic diversity comes form the immigrant population in the country. However this perfect country is a major falsehood. These untrue ideals of harmony, freedom, success, and equality are deceptive and do not show the struggles that immigrants face when coming to this class dominated country. The immigrants of today do not come from just Europe, but overwhelmingly from Asia and Latin America. “They are driving a demographic shift so rapid that within the lifetimes of today 's teenagers, no one ethnic group – including whites of European descent – will comprise a majority of the nation 's population’ (Colombo, Cullen, Lisle). These immigrants challenge the social myth that everyone has an equal chance in life. They
Today we live in a world of which some have come to understand where it all came from. So many different little contributions have accumulated over the years to create “today” in the United States of America. Not one factor is more important than the next, however, some have had a larger, lasting impact today. Immigration and racial discrimination have played the most important role as to why American society has altered. In 1917 America entered World War one. By doing this America played a grave role in conquering Germany and ushering peace to Europe. However, the Great War also meant that the US would change dramatically through historical issues and changes which resulted in
Rip Van Winkle is the very embodiment of freedom, a very unsightly version of freedom but freedom nonetheless. Running through the story, it is learned that Rip Van Winkle is a lazy and unproductive member of society. He doesn’t do any beneficial work for his family, his terribly passive behavior rubbed off of on his son, and so forth. Even then, he’s still being terrorized by various kinds of tyrannical powers: the tyranny of marriage (his very uptight wife, Dame Van Winkle, nags on him a lot), the tyranny of social expectations (a man in his prime is expected to do something beneficial), and the tyranny of government (he is under direct rule of King George III). Thankfully, a magical nap solved all of these issues.
The world of television is filled with manipulation and lies regardless of whether or not the masses choose to accept it. This belief, which I would dare to call a fact, can be easily seen in commercials and advertisements if one takes the time to consciously observe the language and tactics that they use. We may think that commercials are looking out for our best interest and the benefits from the featured product seem legitimate, but the majority of commercials are only meant to deceive their viewers so that consumers are manipulated into buying a product that they don’t need or a product that will not produce the same results as seen on TV. Advertisers make a living on the naivety of most consumers, therefore we must critically examine any