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| Anti-Chinese Cartoons |
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| Anti-Chinese Cartoons |
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| Anti-Chinese Cartoons |
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| Anti-Chinese Cartoons |
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| Anti-Chinese Cartoons |
This site was my first site and gave me a great start to the project. I learned who signed the act, how long it lasted, and that it was the first major law restricting immigration.
This site helped me realize not only did I think this act was considered racist, but so did many scholars, average citizens, and historians.
This site told me when anti-chinese began to take place, during the gold rush when more of the Chinese came and occupied jobs it began to create competition on the job market.
This site told me the fact that China is the third largest country in the world, and lots of the Chinese wanted to move to the US for reasons like: a better economic opportunity, and others were even forced into contract laborers or refugees.
This site made me aware of the 1870’s national depression, coupled with bank failures, and drought conditions in California which caused an anti-chinese settlement among working classes when the Chinese became the scapegoats for economic hardships.
The history book was a great source to use, I found out the Chinese lifestyle, what happened before the act to cause the americans jealousy, and found out about clubs that were made against the Chinese.
The Chinese Exclusion Act had a tremendous
impact on the Chinese in 1882. Anti-Chinese began with the great migration from
China during the gold rush in 1848. White minors and prospectors began to force
taxes and laws to restrain the Chinese from success. Racial tensions kept
building when more and more Chinese came and occupied jobs and created
competition within the job market. Chinese immigrants were scapegoats because
of their willingness to work for lower wages.
The Anti-Chinese continued in 1852 when the
governor of California called the Chinese, “one of the most worthy classes of
our newly adopted citizens.” White’s became hostile and people began to see the
Chinese as rivals with their success, even as threats. During the 1860’s and
1870’s the whites began clubs called the Anti-coolie clubs. Some of these clubs
would attack Chinese in streets, and were suspected of setting fires to
factories in which the Chinese worked.
Life was hard for most Chinese. They usually
worked as the common laborers, servants, and unskilled factory hands. The small
number of Chinese women had it the worst, migrating to California for them was
mainly because they were sold into prostitution. By 1880 nearly half the
Chinese women in California were prostitutes.
All of these actions lead up to the Chinese
Exclusion Act in 1882. The people believed that excluding “an industrial army
of Asidtic laborers” would help protect “American” workers and help reduce
class conflict. I believe this is an excuse for the Americans being scared of
the Chinese competition.
May 6, 1882, President Chester A. Arthur signed
The Chinese Exclusion Act. The act halted Chinese immigration for ten years and
banned Chinese from becoming US citizens. This was the first major law
restricting immigration to the US due to people believing the Chinese were
racially inferior. Many historians, scholars, and average citizens viewed it as
racist. I am one of the average citizens who believed this act to be racist as
well.
The law came to an end in 1943, although in 1943
only 105 Chinese were allowed per year, which was harming the Chinese immigration
policy. In 1965, an immigration act was applied and after eighty years of
fighting, the war was over.
