Impact of the Chinese Exclusion Act on Chinese immigrants and immigration policy
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).
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
After the increased suppression of international slave trade during the mid nineteenth century, Chinese immigrants were frowned upon in America due to the fact that they were depicted as a threat to the U.S economy. As a result, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was passed and banished a vast majority of Chinese people in America. Based on the documents provided, it can be concluded that the Chinese Exclusion Act, despite being morally incorrect, was an inefficient ordinance that caused an abundance of controversy in America. Based on document A, during this time frame, there was a great amount of racist feelings towards the Chinese. This is shown in a play called “The Chinese Must Go” by Henry Grimm, which depicts the Chinese in a negative
In Erika Lee’s novel titled At America’s Gates, she takes a close examination of the Chinese people and how various immigration laws affected their lives beyond a legal aspect in the late 19th century and early 20th century. She explains how Chinese immigration and exclusion laws influenced not only the Chinese, but also the United States as a whole. A country that once openly welcomed foreigners without restrictions became one that sought to control immigration through standards of race, class, and gender for the first time in its history.
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
The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was the key basic law limiting relocation into the Unified States. Those on the West Drift were especially disposed to quality declining remuneration and money related ills on the hated Chinese experts. The primary Chinese nonnatives never anticipated that would stay in America. On the other hand possibly, they believed they could benefit to support their families, and return to China. At in the first place, these new workers were for the most part invited by neighborhood Americans. Regardless, as the gold ran out and diverse occupations ended up being all the more uncommon, the Chinese got the opportunity to be centered around and against relocation incline made. American work pioneers and lawmakers began
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 1882, the U.S government passed the Chinese Exclusion Act to limit the immigration of Chinese people. This was because the Chinese immigrants had skills, and were able to do multiple tasks while getting paid in a low amount. This was beneficial for the owners, so this caused them to get hired easily and take over the jobs of other people in America. Americans will lose jobs because of this. According to document 1 a primary source it stated, “…Whereas, in the opinion of the government of the United States the coming of Chinese labors to this country endangers the good order of certain localities (areas) within the territory.” This means that the Chinese were strong enough to cause danger in the goods in areas, and take over/ affect the territory. They were that strong that even the government had to take this step. This act prevented Chinese labors to come to America for 10 years. According to the same document it stated, “ The ninety days after the passage of this act, and until the expiration of ten years next after the passage of this act, the coming of Chinese laborers to the united states be… suspended” This will prevent Americans to lose their jobs and also won’t over populate U.S. According to document 2, a cartoon analysis (secondary source) it shows a Chinese man with a lot of hands,
The Chinese Exclusion Act was used to keep Chinese laborers from immigrating to the United States. This law also denied the Chinese of naturalization and required Chinese laborers already legally present in the U.S. who later wish to re-enter to obtain “certificates of return.” In the West, many Americans suffered from unemployment and declining wages that were caused by the new Chinese laborers. While this act prevented Chinese laborers from entering the United States, there were specific exemptions that were allowed to enter such as merchants, teachers, students, and officials.
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 first Chinese immigrants flooded to America, in the hopes of “striking gold” during the California Gold Rush of 1849. Unfortunately, the citizens of California greeted these newcomers with many unfair laws. Beginning with the Foreign Miner’s License Tax Law of 1850, the Chinese experienced nothing but bigotry from the citizens who surrounded them. This inequality peaked when President Chester A. Arthur signed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, barring the immigration of Chinese workers for ten years. During that time, the immigration of Japanese in search of work rapidly increased. These immigrants also faced racial discrimination, from their ineligibility for citizenship to the laws prohibiting Japanese from owning land. The full
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
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
America has had a very complicated and long history with regard to immigration. During the end of the 19th century, American policy began to change starkly from what once the norm. These problematic changes to the culture in America have severely and permanently changed the way immigration was looked at, not just from a bureaucratic standpoint, but also from the tone of the American people regarding immigration. Negative social stigmas of the time reared against Asian immigrants paved the way for the Chinese exclusion acts and the Page law. These initial pieces of legislation, and the public support that facilitated their signing are keystone for the history of immigration policy in the United States.
One of the most shocking points of the Chinese Exclusion Act was the section that stated that “hereafter no State court or court of the United States shall admit Chinese to citizenship” (Chinese) and while this was in effect, “this act shall not apply to diplomatic and other officers of the Chinese Government” (Chinese). This was shocking due to the fact that the US government was harsh and racist toward the average Chinese citizen, yet those who actually mattered, in this case those within the Chinese government, were not bound by the unfair laws that were enacted at this time. In the speeches presented by those talking about the Act, the speech of Mr. Elliot C. Cowdin presented the most persuasive and most logic perspective of the two. Cowdin
In the 19th century, many people thought that China could not be assimilated and therefore unacceptable. Therefore, they were eventually excluded from the United States in 1882 (Zong & Batalova, 2017). According to the theory of symbolic interactionism, the basic motive behind China's immigration operations is to work. Although they play an indispensable role in the development of the western United States, the Chinese have suffered serious exploitation. They are discriminated against in pay and are forced to work in bad circumstances. White workers regard them as economic competitors and racial underdogs, thereby stimulating the adoption of discriminatory laws and implementing extensive violence against the Chinese (Zong & Batalova, 2017). This has brought sadness and unacceptable experience to Chinese immigrants at that time. Under the racist slogan, "The Chinese must go!" There has been an anti-China campaign. This hostility has prevented the Chinese from becoming Americans. It forced them to flee to Chinatown, where they found security and support. In these slums, they managed to overcome the meager existence, but they were isolated from other people and could not be integrated into mainstream society, even though it may be quite difficult. This shows that white society at that time led to social change for the sake of resource competition, that is, the theory of social conflict. Especially in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, under the influence of structural functionalism, the U.S. economy tended toward workers with valuable skills (Zong & Batalova, 2017). Therefore, Chinese immigrants were initially welcomed. They became an important part of the labor force that laid the foundation for the economic development of the western United States. Chinese people can be found throughout the region,
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