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 Struggle of Immigrants in America The U.S has a prolonged history of discrimination. In the late 17th century, when America declared as a free country, only the white gentility had the privileged of “freedom” and African American continue their life as slaves for many decades. As the country grows, it
53 “The Chinese Exclusion Act had a profound long-term impact on immigration policy. As the first law barring entry to people of a specific race or nationality, it served as a model for twentieth-century restrictions.” Edwards explains the beginnings of
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?
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
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
“Chinese Immigrant Lee Chew Denounces Prejudice in America, 1882” A Comprehensive view of Discrimination in Nineteenth Century America 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
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 definition of freedom and equality for immigrants in the United States is considered a long term struggle. The Federal Government’s size, and role in the average American life has both retarded and advanced freedom and equality for immigrants because of the constantly changing perceptions of immigrants. The Chinese Exclusion
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, 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. The most influential factor in why Americans passed the Chinese Exclusion Act was racism towards the Chinese.
In the 1800’s, immigrants from different areas of the world began coming more frequently to the United States. With these immigrants, came the Chinese. After some time, an Exclusion Act was passed by the United States to keep the Chinese from immigrating. This happened in 1882 and was even extended in 1892. This act was supported in being passed because the Chinese were taking many jobs from the Americans, and also because the Chinese brought conflicting cultural elements to America.
During the beginning of the time period between 1882 and 2000, the United States policies towards immigration and naturalization became more and more restrictive due to American’s fear of competition with immigrants for jobs and their buildup of racism towards those immigrants. Chinese immigrants were the first
Xenophobia and fear of Chinese immigrants became catalyst for The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. This image depicts the violence, fear, and xenophobia the white Americans felt toward the Chinese for taking their jobs, some of their women, ruining the economy, and coming from another country. What stands out in
Becoming American: The Chinese Experience SOCY 100 February 18, 2012 Introduction 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