Xenophobia And Fear Of Chinese Immigration And The Chinese Exclusion Act Of 1882

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

The document was produced at this time because it was a time when the Chinese where treated bad, and it helps because it achieved some peace towards the Chinese. At some point it might of lowered the Chinese death rate. This picture was created by Thomas Nast, and his perspective was to protect Chinese immigrants from violence of evil people. This relates to the Chinese exclusion act by showing violence. This portrait is important because it demonstrates the good examples and it offers protection to the Chinese. This contradicts the exclusion act because it shows Irish and Germans being cruel to a Chinese man because they are immigrants too. This is ironic because they were once going thru the same troubles to be in America. Also “Columbia” is supposed to agree with her U.S. laws but disputes the laws in every way. According to Thomas Nast in his cartoon points out how the Chinese immigrants where brutally treated by, also, former immigrants. Although there is much evidence to show that U.S. laws exclude Chinese people, an analysis of the document contradicts that not all American great names and great people support with this act. This is demonstrated by showing Ms. Columbia protecting poor Chinese immigrant and stating that “America means fair play for all men”

When the first Chinese arrived on steamships, they were greeted with hostility because they quickly became a significant part of labour. They were known to be hard and reliable workers. Borthwick´s intend was to picture every ethnic group that immigrated to America during the Gold Rush era. His drawing shows no derision or fear rather than curiosity. Big newspapers and magazines published the first pictures of the Chinese to inform the people how the newly arrived Chinese look like and how they integrate. The immigrants were a newsworthy subject, especially on the East coast. The picture shows their daily activities and how they lived. The men that are working in the back support the image of the Chinese as reliable and productive labours.

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

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,

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.”

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 Chinese Exclusion Act was established in 1882, in which the first time United States prevent a group of immigrants with nationality (Lee 4), marked United States’ from welcoming nation to an enclosed and discriminative nation, has monumental impact on each Chinese immigrants and culture of the entire American Chinese community (6). The poor conditions and lack of opportunities in the 19th century China and the Chinese’s hope of accumulating wealth to support their families in China fostered the huge influx of Chinese immigrants to United States. The discovery of gold in California also fuelled many Chinese’s dream of fast wealth (112). Due to the need for mass labour stemming from industrialization and high productivity of Chinese labours, employers would enthusiastically hire Chinese labour, which in turn sparked the increasing competition with the local workers and a growing anti-Chinese sentiment (114).

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.

In document 1, we get a glimpse on how society viewed the Chinese workers and how racial the whites were by how they stereotyped the Chinese culture and portrayed them in a negative way. The document projects the antagonism made against the Chinese since they contributed to the economy. In document 2, the picture depicts a woman, who is Columbia, defending an immigrants by conveying American value. Not only is Columbia protecting the Chinese immigrant from the American citizens, but also from the German and Irish. The immigrants are being called barbarians which was used to describe the lower racial class. Thomas Nast used the Irish and German immigrants as a symbol of violence because they feel attacked by how Chinese immigrant is being protected. The message the picture intends for the audience to understand is that American value should be looking out and protecting

The Chinese Exclusion act was passed and supported because the Chinese were taking jobs from the Americans. By 1852 25,000 Chinese had already immigrated to America, and then in 1880 already 106,000 Chinese were populating the United States. Just by sheer amount, there were many people who needed jobs. The Chinese were, like many immigrants, hardworking as well as willing to work. They not only were hard workers, but did their tasks well and effectively. Delegate C.R. Kleine talks about how the Chinese reputation for work was, he says: “The mistress of the house wants a Chinaman. Why? He is very handy. She can say, ‘John Chinaman, do this’, and John does it”. Chinese men were often chosen over a white man or woman for a job and this made the Americans angry and desperate. In a play written by Henry Grimm we see a Chinese man with “plenty work, plenty money, [and] plenty to eat” then in contrast, we see a white man named Frank B. that is struggling to get by with any work, food, or money.

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

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.

The need to compete for possessions, jobs, and status causes people to feel animosity towards other ethnic groups. For example, during the 1800’s the Chinese occupied many of the jobs building railroads; this made the Anglo-Americans angry, they felt as if the Chinese were taking over the job market. In turn, this led the Chinese to become “victims of open discrimination and hostility”. Although the Chinese were already barred from schools and the court system, the Anglo-Americans felt that the Chinese