Summary Of The Poem InThe New Colossus

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

Around the mid-19th to the 20th century, myriads of immigrants flocked to the U.S. seeking better job opportunities,or searching for religious freedom. U.S. citizens were fearful, envious, and willing to exclude immigrants who came to the US as they were viewed as an economic threat to the society. They believed that these immigrants were racially, morally and intellectually inferior to them and as such did not see or treat as their equals. These dysfunctions lead to severe and harsh treatment of immigrants. Historically, the three major immigrant groups that faced the most discrimination during this era were the Asians, German, and the Irish. American citizen’s fear of job secureness led to the resentment and discriminatory treatment towards Asian Immigrants. They believed that the majority of the Asian American immigrants were taking too many of their jobs. As such, the U.S. government decided that it would be necessary to restrict the amount of Asian Americans, in order to keep the U.S. citizens from being unemployed. The U.S. government passed numerous laws, banning Asian American immigrants from the United States. One distinct law that they passed was the 1922 Cable Act, this law “stripped a female citizen of citizenship, if she married an alien unable to become a citizen.”(Lutz 7).The law was basically passed to prevent Asian immigrants from obtaining citizenship by marrying a female U.S citizen.In fact, the government believed that female citizens that engaged in this

During this time the Chinese Exclusion Act was in place, forbidding the entrance of Chinese immigrants into the United States.

Ellis Island, the portal for immigrants to access a developed, prosperous land, the United States of America, and seek opportunity that would they would otherwise not discover in their home country. Opened in 1892, the island was the gateway for foreign people across the globe to enter salvation from their native country. With this new structure set in place, Americans had mixed feelings on immigration. The two conflicting ideas of immigration in this time period can be demonstrated through two poems: “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus and “Unguarded Gates” by Thomas Bailey Aldrich. While both literary works highlight the ideal “American dream” and personify the Statue of Liberty, they differ in the fact that they have different points of view on immigration.

“The New Colossus” is a poem written by Emma Lazarus that is inscribed on a plaque at the base of the Statue of Liberty. This is the poem that we as Americans use as words of inspiration. From October 28, 1886, the date of when the Statue of Liberty was built and dedicated, to the year 2017, we have used the poem’s words to live by. While some people think that it is time for a change, others say that we should leave the poem to stay, for it is a historical remembrance of everything that we have stood up for. This poem also represents the welcoming of immigrants, the freedom that we fought for, and the freedom of religion.

In the famous poem The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus, America is deemed a land of “world wide welcome” for those who seek a new place to call home. The Statue of Liberty is established early on in the piece as a symbol of freedom and protection, a statue symbolic of the spirit of America. In the piece, Lazarus refers to immigrants as the “poor, huddled masses” to whom the United States offers a pair of open “golden doors.” However, many immigrants today feel far removed from the land of freedom referenced in The New Colossus. The promise of a blue sky with endless possibilities is far from reality for the Americans that the poem calls the huddled masses. It is clear that America’s promise of freedom and opportunity, characterized by the

Attention: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free” (Emma Lazarus). This sentence can be found in the poem “The New Colossus,” written by Emma Lazarus in 1883. It can also be found inscribed on the Statue of Liberty towering over the New York Harbor, a bright beacon symbolizing the freedom and democracy we hold so esteemed in America. Immigrants founded the United States and immigrants are arguably who made our nation so great. However, when immigrants do not follow the process to acquire legal citizenship into the United States is when the problems arise.

Since the dawn of American colonization in the early 1600s, the notion of immigrating to America has long been instilled upon various people as a stimulating opportunity to begin a fresh chapter in their lives. Even now, this possibility has brought many variations of people to America, culminating a society that brims with dreams and aspirations to form the diversified nation of today. When speaking of the current state of immigration, it is easy to conclude that immigration is heavily discussed from political standpoints. Though this current condition is composed of highly controversial perspectives, many of the early-century viewpoints found in literature genuinely embrace reality, for these writers were indeed immigrants themselves, thus adding an authoritative standpoint over immigration. The Americanization of Edward Bok (1921) by Edward Bok and The America I Believe In by Colin Powell, display the perspectives of two authors, who have lived as immigrants, through their own personal anecdotes. Both Edward Bok and Colin Powell convey a sincerely grateful tone and develop the idea of Americanization and the quest for opportunity through the use of connotative diction in contrast to the Immigration Chart and Political Cartoon which have a downright concrete and pessimistic tone and supports the idea that immigration exposes various challenges to incoming immigrants.

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 United States, the cliché of a nation of immigrants is often invoked. Indeed, very few Americans can trace their ancestry to what is now the United States, and the origins of its immigrants have changed many times in American history. Despite the identity of an immigrant nation, changes in the origins of immigrants have often been met with resistance. What began with white, western European settlers fleeing religious persecution morphed into a multicultural nation as immigrants from countries across the globe came to the U.S. in increasing numbers. Like the colonial immigrants before them, these new immigrants sailed to the Americas to gain freedom, flee poverty and

The government targeted the Asian Americans as a threat. As Takaki asserted, “Unlike European immigrants, Asians were also victimized by the institutionalized racial discrimination of public policies.” These policies include the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the National Origins Act of 1924. The social image of America can clearly be seen as only “whites” when the government institute policies to encourage European women to arrive to America so the immigrants can form families, while Asian women were barred the entry to prevent families to form

Xenophobia and fear of Chinese immigrants became catalyst for The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. This text shows how white Americans thought the Chinese were taking over because thousands of Chinese were

Many critics pointed out that the purpose behind letting Asian Americans immigrating in the country was only being a laborer and economical being (Chang 2001). This indicates that there was no intention of letting Asian Americans partake in the American political process. This process indicates how this race was a victim of systematic and unintentional racism. As Chang (2001) has stated, the Chinese were considered hyperpolitical. It was believed that eventually they will seek political power in the society and government in American Society. As it was viewed that Chinese involvement within the American political process would hurt America, not benefit it. Such views hindered Asian Americans political involvement when they attempt to engage in a political process was made by the Asian Americans. Additionally, one can engage within a political process through voting. However, the federal Chinese Exclusion Act was passed by congress in 1882 and the purpose behind it was to prohibit all immigration of Chinese laborers.During the process, explicit negative concerns were shown during that time when this legislation was being passed. After the Chinese Exclusion Act, Asiatic Barred Zone 1917 and enactment of the Immigration Act of 1924

Mary Gordon concludes her essay in an interesting way in which she compares American history to a “very classy party that was not much fun until they (the immigrants) arrived” (1013). Throughout her essay, she describes the prejudice and the hardships immigrants faced as they entered Ellis Island. She explains how immigrants are unappreciated for the role they had in shaping American culture and are instead remembered for the suffering they experienced. Ellis Island represents that not all of American history is honorable and glorious, but from Gordon’s perspective it should be. Coming from immigrant descent, Gordon sympathizes with the fact that her ancestors went through tough situations in order to establish a home in the United States.

Immigration to the US has always been a complex phenomenon involving the development of different people from different nations, cultures, and has added to the United State’s rich history. Immigration has brought both benefits and consequences to the United States in forms of economic stability and opportunity, mass settlements of foreign peoples, but also culture clash all resulting in the US attempt to curb immigration with the passing of several legislations. Many attempts to curb immigration were taken by US Congress with the passing of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, and the Immigration Act of 1903; all used to insure specific laws and boundaries set on immigrants. Heavy resentment against immigrants in the US pushed Congress for limitations that brought many tensions against races like the Irish and Chinese.