Tydings-Mcduffie Act Case Analysis

The Filipino people had helped the US fight the Spanish-American War in hope to gain independence in return. However, instead of gaining independence the Philippines was annexed to the United States on December 10, 1898. When the Filipino’s had found they were going to be ruled over once again they were very unhappy, after all they had helped the US. When Aguinaldo had found out that the Philippines were going to be controlled by the US, he had declared war on the United States.

“Race is always historically specific” (7). This quote summarizes a major argument in Mae Ngai’s book, Impossible Subjects. Ngai argues that since the Johnson-Reed Act of 1924, race and immigration are closely tied together in the United States. This act solidified the category of the illegal alien and this group of people have since become a major concern for leaders of the government. Mae Ngai goes in-depth about how the Johnson-Reed Act of 1924 impacted American immigration policies until it was replaced by the Immigration Act of 1965. The Johnson-Reed Act of 1924 greatly impacted the plight of racial and ethnic minorities and Ngai clearly depicts each of the many instances throughout her book. Some of the groups that became disenfranchised where Filipino immigrants during the 1920 and ‘30s and Japanese immigrants during World War II.

It wasn’t until 1924 which Native Americans were able to become citizens of the United States. Prior to then, the Natives were underestimated and were not fully granted nor treated the freedom they deserved. The Natives involvement during WWI somehow proved to the federal government that they were capable as being a citizen and thusly, pushed Congress to permit the Meriam Survey. In the report of 1928, it showed the shocking details that the Natives had to live in which became the purpose for reform. In 1934, the Indian Reorganization Act was established which abolished the Dawes Act and granted them the ability to hold administrative positions within the government; however, was still undermined by many of the states and believed that the Act was in some ways ‘unconstitutional’.

When the Philippines became a territory of the U.S. after the Spanish-American War, Philippine could freely enter the country. Recruited by the thousands as cheap labor to work the Hawaiian sugar plantation and “the fisheries of the Northwest and Alaska” (Takai, 314). They quickly began to migrate to the U.S mainland. They were agricultural workers and domestic service workers, which is what the economy needed at that time. In contrast, in class, we learned that the first Chinese immigration to North America began with the California Gold Rush and the first railroad project. Following the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, Japanese immigrants were increasingly as their success in the farming industry. Therefore, they way they came to America makes Filipino quite distinct from the Chinese and

Joseph Healey’s “From Immigrants to White Ethnics” is a generalized comparison between the varying groups of individuals that accompanied the colossal waves of immigration to the United States from Europe in the nineteenth century. Immigration to this country resulted from a number of reason such as religious persecution, individuals seeking to find employment after industrialization in their home countries limited their livelihood, and political oppositions to name a few. On arrival the immigrants knew immediately they were of the subordinate group and faced “discrimination and prejudice” (Healey, 2012, p. 54), although some more so than others. Among the first immigrants to arrive in the United States were Northern and Western European citizens. Unlike the immigrants from Ireland and Southern and Eastern Europe that chose the United States for their new homeland these individuals were probably the most accepted by the majority, even if considered just nominally superior to the others. Included in this group were the “English, Germans, Norwegians, Swedes, Welsh, French, Dutch and Danes” (Healey, 2012, p. 56). This acceptance was due in part to the similarities that the dominate group held as ideals such as their religion, along with cultural values and characteristics. If the Northern and Western Europeans found acceptance difficult, individuals from Ireland and the Europeans from the south and east had an even more traumatic experience. Whereas the more accepted group had

“In its first words on the subject of citizenship, Congress in 1790 restricted naturalization to “white persons.” Though the requirements for naturalization changed frequently thereafter, this racial prerequisite to citizenship endure for over a century and a half, remaining in force until 1952” (López, 1). As persons from other countries migrated to the United States and attempted to acquire citizenship, the question of whiteness, specifically who and why an individual was white, arose; “whether one was “white,” however, was often no easy question” (López, 1).

George Hall a Californian white man, murdered a Chinese immigrant in front of his peers. Hall was arrested and convicted to murder, following the law. However, Hall appealed claiming that he should be set free since Chinese shouldn’t even be allowed to testify. The case went to the Californian Supreme Court, and overturned his conviction supporting Hall. According to the court Chinese immigrants were “Indians.”

The Japanese Americans sustained many injustices during the pre-World War Two era, including exclusion from traditional establishments and occupations. It was noted, “the [economic] argument and the discriminatory measures are plain contradictions” (Goto 105-106). Although the stated goal of Californians was to have a unified population, their actions belied their true motives. The colossal nature of the assimilatory feats performed by Japanese dictated that “even Californian agitators themselves, in their moments of private reflection, admit the wonderful power of adaptability of Japanese,” but, “in public they do everything to prevent the process of assimilation from running its natural course” (Goto 106). Often, the bigoted owners of white establishments barred people of Japanese

The law suspended further immigration of Chinese peoples for 10 years, with exclusion of those residing in the United States in 1880. The laws paved the way for the discrimination against the Chinese up until 1904. However, history has began to repeat itself, as racial lines are being drawn against those of Hispanic backgrounds. Due to the high amount of drug trafficking and exploitation/crime being presented across the borders of the United States, many Mexican citizens are being denied the rights of becoming a citizen. After many years of conflict, there is yet to be harmony among the borders.

When learning information about important facts, dates, and the influential people who made up U.S. history, I do not remember learning much of anything regarding the Irish, Chinese, or Japanese. Well, except for Pearl Harbor and the U.S. retaliating against Japan by dropping atomic bombs. I definitely learned that people from around the world immigrated by boat across vast amounts of ocean for a chance to thrive in the land of freedom called America. I learned that millions of people entered through Ellis Island in the late nineteenth century, looking upon the Statue of Liberty, in hopes of finding their right to life, liberty, and happiness. I learned that the majority of these people were stricken of their identities and provided new American names that were easier to pronounce. I did not however, learn about the great discrimination and hardship that these people suffered at the hands of white Americans. The major theme presented is labor discrimination, unequal and unfair pay, long hours, and harsh working and living environments in regards to the Mexican Americans, Chinese, and Japanese. Takaki (2008) paints a vivid picture of discrimination and suffering of the people known as the “others” living and working in the multicultural “melting pot” United States, in his book A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America.

The U.S. wanted to bring a better life to the Filipinos, or their “little brown brothers”, who lived in terrible conditions, or at least they said this as an excuse. However, they actually exploited the Filipinos and mistreated them, one man called Corporal Smith, had actually sailed over and tortured them. They introduced new and unnecessary ways of life and deprived

territory and the government once allowed the Filipinos to go to the U.S. to be laborers, the government no longer wanted the Filipinos to stay for the same reason that they did not want the Mexicans and Mexican Americans to remain in the U.S. The government’s offer to give the Philippines its independence showed clearly that the government did not want these nonwhite, yet hardworking laborers to take up spaces that supposedly should have been for the white Americans; the government offered the Filipinos a free ride back home if they were willing to leave. Additionally, the eager immigrants trying to get into the U.S. had to worry not only about fitting within the quota, but also pleasing the American consuls regarding the LPC clause; in 1930 President Hoover insisted that the LPC clause was tightened up and enforced better (Daniels 295). The LPC, Liable to become a Public Charge, clause was supposed to check that an immigrant was well off enough to enter the U.S. The American consulates ensured that the immigrant had a near-decent or decent amount of money to start off in the U.S. and was capable of keeping themselves economically stable. Considering the current economic crisis, the government did not want even more homeless people roaming around the streets without any direction, and therefore gave more power to the American consulates in letting them decide whether someone could enter the country or not. This clause made it

During the brink of war in World War II to the Civil Rights era, the United States was globally known for their considerable dedication of nationwide pride and prosperity as the outside perspective of the nation was depicted as a powerhouse along with a booming economy. However, the inside perspective of the nation gave away its true colors, becoming a tough pill to swallow as the minority of the United States’ population experienced a time of turmoil facing the white majority. It was fairly easy to overlook the prime examples of racial injustice in the 20th century, but not unfairly to sense the hardship for equality. Victims of the crimes of hatred and vengeance were heavily targeted as being Japanese-Americans and African-Americans. The motive for the discrimination of the Japanese-Americans was influenced by the bombing of Pearl Harbor by Japan, which caused mainstream hatred toward all persons of Japanese ancestry. As an act of precaution, all Japanese-Americans were forced to be imprisoned in internment camps until the end of the war. Moreover, the pursuit of racial equality for African-Americans was a continuous struggle that ensured the limitations of their freedom and civil rights. Whereas one of the incentive for the cause of segregation was merely to input fear to distribute the mindset of whites being the dominant race. Both the Japanese-Americans and the African-Americans battled the impaired judgement that was written all over the partial citizenship they were

The Latino/a experience within the racial system in America was similar to that of Indian immigrants from Asia. In the early 1800s, Indians were granted free access to immigrate to America and naturalize as American citizens because they were perceived as whites. However, as social tensions between Indian and Anglo men began competing for jobs, housing, and women, Members of Congress racialized Indians. They justified that Indian men were no longer privileged to be white because Indians left Europe and traveled backwards to the East, making them inferior (Aoki, and Takeda). These examples of racialization are important to understand how Latino/as have been unwanted in the job

To be a Japanese immigrant in the early 1900s was difficult but after December 7, 1941 things only got worse. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese Imperial Navy attacked the United States naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. “Although conflict had been underway in both Europe and Asia for years, the United States did not formally enter the hostilities until December 8, when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt famously declared the attack on Pearl Harbor ‘a day which we live in infamy’ and asked Congress for a declaration of war” (Wu and Izumi). After the attack on Pearl Harbor “race became increasingly associated with loyalty in the United States” (Harth 254). “What Japan had done was blamed on Japanese Americans” (Wu 2). On February 19, 1942 President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066. Executive Order 9066 granted the secretary of war and his commanders the power “to prescribe military areas in such places and of such extent as he or the appropriate Military Commander may determine, from which any or all persons may be excluded” (Executive Order 9066). “Although the text of Executive Order 9066 did not specifically mention Japanese Americans, it was intended to apply to them exclusively” (G. Robinson and G. Robinson 4).