The Chinese Exclusion Law is a United States federal law signed by President Chester A. Arthur on May 6, 1882, banning all Chinese workers immigration. The action follows the Angell Agreement of 1880, a series of revisions to the US-China Burlingame Agreement of 1868 that allowed the United States to suspend Chinese immigration. The act was originally intended to last for 10 years, but was renewed in 1892 under the Geary Act and was made permanent in 1902. The Chinese Exclusion law is the first law applied to prevent certain ethnic groups immigrating to the United States. It was repealed by the Magnuson Act on December 17, 1943.
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The first significant Chinese immigration to North America began with the California Gold Rush in 1848-1855 and continued with subsequent major work projects, such as the construction of the First Transcontinental Railroad. During the early stages of gold rush, when gold on the surface is abundant, the Chinese are tolerated, if not well received. However, as gold became increasingly difficult to find and competition increased, hostility towards Chinese and other foreigners increased. After being forced out of the mine by a mixture of state legislators and other miners (Foreign Miners Tax), Chinese immigrants began to settle in pockets in cities, especially San Francisco, and took low-wage labor, such as restaurants and laundry. work. With the declining post-Civilian economy in the 1870s, anti-Chinese hostilities became politicized by labor leaders Denis Kearney and his Workers Party as well as by California Governor John Bigler, who both blame China's "coolie" for depressed wage levels. Public opinion and law in California began to disfigure Chinese workers and immigrants in any role, with the latter half of the 1800s seeing a series of increasingly restrictive laws placed on the Chinese people's labor, behavior and even living conditions. While much of this legislative effort was quickly undone by the State Supreme Court, many anti-Chinese laws continue to be passed on in California and nationally.
In the early 1850s there was a rejection of the idea of ââexcluding Chinese migrant workers from immigration as they provided important tax revenues that helped fill California's fiscal gap. But towards the end of this decade, the financial situation improved and then, efforts to enact China's exclusion law became a success at the state level. In 1858, the California Legislature passed a law that made it illegal for any "Chinese or Mongolian race" to enter the country; however, this law was struck by the unpublished opinion of the Supreme Court of the State in 1862.
Chinese immigrant workers provide cheap labor and do not use any of the government's infrastructure (schools, hospitals, etc.) Because the Chinese migrant population is largely composed of healthy male adults. As time passed and more and more Chinese migrants arrived in California, violence was frequent in cities like Los Angeles. At one point, the Chinese man represented nearly a quarter of all wage-earning workers in California, and in 1878 Congress felt compelled to try to ban immigration from China in legislation which was then vetoed by President Rutherford B. Hayes. However, in 1879, California adopted a new Constitution, which explicitly authorized state governments to determine which individuals were permitted to stay in the state, and prohibited China from employment by state and county or municipal and state enterprises. Although there was a great debate about whether the anti-Chinese animus in California prompted the federal government (Thesis California), or whether Chinese racism was only inherent in the country at the time, in 1882 the federal government finally convinced to pass the China Exclusion Act, banning all immigration from China for a period of 10 years.
After the law was passed, most Chinese families were faced with a dilemma: stay in the United States alone or return to China to reunite with their families. Although the great displeasure for the Chinese survives long after the law is passed, it should be noted that some capitalists and businessmen reject their exceptions because they receive lower wages.
Maps Chinese Exclusion Act
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For the first time, federal law prohibits the entry of ethnic working groups on the premise that it endangers the good order of certain areas. (Previous Page Act of 1875 has banned immigration of forced labor of Asia and sex workers, and the Naturalization Act of 1790 is prohibited from naturalization of non-white subjects.) The law does not include Chinese workers, meaning "skilled and unskilled workers and Chinese who working in mining, "entered the country for ten years under threat of imprisonment and deportation.
The Chinese Exclusion Law requires some non-workers seeking entry to get certification from the Chinese government that they are eligible to emigrate. However, the group found it increasingly difficult to prove that they were not workers because of the 1882 action defined as "skilled and unskilled workers and Chinese working in the mines." Thus very few Chinese could enter the country under the laws of 1882. Diplomatic officials and other officials in business, along with their domestic helpers, for the Chinese government were also allowed in as long as they had the proper certification to verify their credentials.
The law also affects the Chinese who have settled in the United States. Any Chinese who leaves the United States should get certified for reentry, and the Law makes Chinese permanent foreign immigrants by excluding them from US citizenship. Following the passage of the law, Chinese men in the United States have little opportunity to reunite with their wives, or start families in their new homes.
The amendment of 1884 tightened provisions allowing previous immigrants to go and return, and clarified that the law applies to ethnic Chinese regardless of their country of origin. Scott's law (1888) extended to the Chinese Exclusion Act, prohibiting reentry after leaving the US Constitution of the Chinese Exclusion Act and Scott's Law upheld by the Supreme Court at Chae Chan Ping v. United States of America (1889); The Supreme Court declared that "the power of foreign exclusion is a sovereignty incident belonging to the United States government as part of the sovereign power delegated by the constitution." The law was renewed for ten years by the 1892 Geary Act, and again without a terminal date in 1902. When the act was extended in 1902, it required "every resident of China to register and obtain a certificate of residence." Without a certificate, he or she face deportation. "
Between 1882 and 1905, about 10,000 Chinese appealed against a negative immigration decision to federal court, usually through a petition for habeas corpus. In most of these cases, the court decides to support the applicant. Except in the case of bias or negligence, this petition is prohibited by acts passed by Congress in 1894 and enforced by the US Supreme Court at US vs. Moon Sexy Gloss (1895). ). In AS. vs. Ju Toy (1905), the US Supreme Court reaffirms that port inspectors and Trade Ministers have final authority on who is acceptable. The request of Ju Toy is thus prohibited despite the fact that the district court finds that he is an American citizen. The Supreme Court ruled that refusing to enter the port did not require legal proceedings and was legally equivalent to refusing to enter the land crossing. All these developments, together with the expansion of action in 1902, triggered a boycott of US goods in China between 1904 and 1906. There was one case of 1,885 in San Francisco, however, where the Treasury Department official in Washington overturned the decision to refuse entry to two Chinese students.
One criticism of the Chinese Exclusion Act is the anti-slavery/anti-imperialist Senator George Frisbie Hoar of Massachusetts who described the Act as "nothing less than legalizing racial discrimination." It is primarily intended to maintain the superiority of whites especially with regard to the privilege of work.
The law is largely driven by racial concerns; immigration of people of other races is not limited during this period. Another reason why this law is enacted is due to the fact that Americans face higher unemployment than Chinese workers who are mostly on the West Coast.
On the other hand, most people and Trade Unions strongly support the Chinese Exclusion Act, including the US Labor Federation and Labor Knights, the unions, who support it because they believe that industrialists use Chinese workers as wedges to keep wages low.. Among the workers' and leftist organizations, World Industrial Workers are the only exception to this pattern. IWW has publicly opposed the Chinese Exceptions Act since the beginning of 1905.
For all practical purposes, the Exclusion Law, along with its following restrictions, froze the Chinese community on the spot in 1882. Limited immigration from China continued until the lifting of the Chinese Exception Act in 1943. From 1910 to 1940, the Angel Island Office of Immigration in where the island is now the Angel Island Park in San Francisco Bay serves as a processing hub for most of the 56,113 Chinese immigrants who were registered as immigrants or returned from China; more than 30% more appearing returned to China. Angel Island State Park is where Chinese immigrants are accepted to live in the United States or to be forced to leave. Furthermore, after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, which destroyed the City Hall and Hall of Records, many immigrants (known as "paper children") claimed that they had family ties with Chinese Americans. Whether this is true or not can not be proven.
The Chinese Exclusion law spawns a major wave of the first commercial human smuggling, an activity that then spread to include other national and ethnic groups.
The Chinese Exclusion Law also led to an expansion of the powers of US immigration law through its influence on Canadian policies regarding China's exceptions during this time due to the need for greater vigilance on the US-Canadian border. Shortly after the Chinese Exceptions Act, Canada enacted the Chinese Immigration Act of 1885 which imposed a head tax on Chinese migrants entering Canada. After increasing pressure from the US government, Canada finally established the Chinese Immigration Act, 1923 which forbade most forms of immigration by China to Canada. There is also a need for this kind of border control along the US-Mexico border, however, efforts to control the border run on different paths because Mexico is afraid of expanding the power of the US empire and not wanting US interference in Mexico. Not only this, but Chinese immigration to Mexico is welcomed as Chinese immigrants meet the needs of Mexican labor. The Chinese Exemption Act actually caused the rise of Chinese immigration to Mexico due to ostracism by the US. Therefore, the US was forced to imprison the border along Mexico.
Later, the 1924 Immigration Act restricted further immigration, excluding all classes of Chinese immigrants and extending restrictions to other Asian immigrant groups. Until these limitations were relaxed in the mid-twentieth century, Chinese immigrants were forced to live apart from their families, and to build ethnic areas where they could survive there (Chinatown). The Chinese Exclusion law does not address the problems facing whites; In fact, the Chinese were quickly and eagerly replaced by the Japanese, who took on the role of the Chinese in society. Unlike Chinese, some Japanese are even able to climb the ladder of society by setting up businesses or becoming truck farmers. However, Japan was later targeted in the National Origins Act of 1924, which prohibited immigration from East Asia completely.
In 1891, the Chinese Government refused to accept US Senator Henry W. Blair as US Secretary of State to China for his harsh comments about China during the negotiations of the Chinese Exclusion Act.
American Christian Pastor Dr. George F. Pentecost speaks against western imperialism in China, saying: I am personally convinced that it would be a good thing for America if China's immigration embargo was abolished. I think that the annual acceptance of 100,000 to this country will be a good thing for the country. And if the same thing is done in the Philippines, the islands will be the true Garden of Eden in twenty-five years. The presence of Chinese workers in this country will, in my opinion, do very much to solve our labor problems. There is no comparison between the Chinese, even from the lowest class of coolies, and people who come here from Southeast Europe, from Russia, or from Southern Italy. The Chinese are really good workers. That's why the workers here hate them. I think too, that emigration to America will help the Chinese. At least he will be in touch with some real Christians in America. The Chinese live in poverty because he is poor. If he has prosperity, his poverty will stop.
"Driving Out" Period
Following a law passed from the Chinese Exclusion Act, a period known as the "Driving" era was born. During this period, many anti-Chinese Americans attempted to physically force Chinese communities to flee to other areas. Many of these outbreaks occur in Western countries. The Rock Springs Chinese Massacre (1885) and the Snake River Massacre of 1887 are two important events in history.
Rock Springs Massacre 1885
The Rock Springs Massacre took place in 1885. In 1885, many indignant miners in Sweetwater County, Wyoming felt threatened by the Chinese and blamed them for their unemployment. As a result of job competition, white miners expressed their disappointment in the physical violence in which they robbed, fired, and stabbed in China in Chinatown. The Chinese quickly attempted to flee but by doing so, many were eventually burned alive in their homes, starving to death in hidden shelters, or exposed to predators in the mountains. Some were rescued by passing trains, but by the end of the show at least twenty-eight souls had been lost.
In an effort to calm the situation, the government intervened by sending federal troops to protect China. However, after the event, only compensation for the destroyed property is paid. No one was arrested or held accountable for the atrocities committed during the riots.
The Snake River Massacre of 1887
The massacre itself gets its name because of its location along the Snake River in Hells Canyon by Deep creek. This area inhabits many rocky cliffs and towering white ridges all of which pose a danger to humans who venture into the area. Thirty four Chinese miners employed by the company Sam Yong, one of the six largest Chinese companies at the time, worked in this field since October 1886. An accurate report on the event remains unclear to this day secondary to law enforcement that can not be dependable on time, biased coverage, and lack of serious official investigations. However, it speculates that the dead Chinese miners were not the natural victims, but the victims of gunfire and robberies from seven armed horse thieves. A total of $ 4,000- $ 5,000 worth of gold is estimated to have been stolen from miners. The existence of gold is never found or investigated further. Recently, attempts to formulate an accurate picture of the event were taken from a hidden copy of court documents containing jury indictments, depositions given by defendants, notes from the trial, and Wallowa County historical records by J. Harland Horner and H. Ross Findley.
Horner and Findley Account
Horner and Findley are both schoolchildren at the time of the massacre but their accounts have noticeable differences. Findley believes the massacre is a planned event with more than a gold-stealing motif from Chinese miners. He believed the captured perpetrators wanted to remove the Chinese miners from the area, which they managed to achieve. Unlike most accounts, Findley only remembers 31 confirmed victims, and no mention of trials. On the other hand, Horner believes that the incident was a sudden event and affected 34 confirmed victims. Schoolchildren initially had only the intention of stealing horses, but had trouble crossing the river with stolen horses. When Chinese miners refused to lend their boats, the boys decided to take the boat by force.
The Bodies
Another disagreement on motives can also be attributed to the fact that the bodies of Chinese miners are only found downstream after two weeks. It is unclear whether the corpse found was caused by human killing or as a result of being thrown into turbulent waters. The rapids and brutal forces of the current can destroy the bodies from the rocks. However, it is certain that the Chinese people were shot from gunshot wounds found in the body. Only ten bodies were identified on February 16, 1888: Chea-po, Chea-Sun, Chea-Yow, Chea-Shun, Chea Cheong, Chea Ling, Chea Chow, Chea Lin Chung, Kong Mun Kow, and Kong Ngan. Little is known about these unidentified men.
Follow after
Shortly after the incident, the company Sam Yup of San Francisco hired Lee Loi who then hired Joseph K. Vincent, then commissioner of the United States, to lead the investigation. Vincent submitted his investigative report to the Chinese consulate that sought to fail to win justice for Chinese miners. At about the same time, other compensation reports were also unsuccessfully filed for previous crimes inflicted on the Chinese. Eventually, on October 19, 1888, Congress agreed to greatly offset the massacres and ignore claims for past crimes. Although the amount is very less, it is still a small victory for Chinese people who have low expectations to get help or recognition.
Current update
The US Council on Geography Name is officially named the Deep Creek massacre site to the China Gulf Massacre. It serves as the first official recognition of the crime. Also in June 2012, a memorial was erected with personal funds and donations to the slain Chinese miners.
Legal Issues
The Chinese Exclusion law brings rigidity not only to the Chinese but to the Caucasian and others who last for about thirty years. The American economy suffered heavy losses as a result of this Act. The law is a sign of injustice and unfair treatment of Chinese workers because the work they do is mostly rough work.
The bubonic outbreak in Chinatown
In 1900-1904 San Francisco suffered from the Bubonic plague. It first attacks the Chinatown of San Francisco, causing people to get sick and to have fever, swollen lymph nodes, muscle aches and fatigue. If left untreated, this infection can cause chronic complications such as gangrene, meningitis and even death. The Bubonic Plague Outbreak in Chinatown San Francisco reinforced the Anti-Chinese sentiment throughout California despite scientific research at the time indicating that it was caused by a lice-propagated "Yersinia pestis", found in small rodents. When the first round of people died of this outbreak, the company and the state denied the fact that there was an outbreak, to keep the reputation and business of San Francisco in order. The plague was not from Chinatown; it is because of unhealthy conditions and the population density of such outbreaks is spreading rapidly, and therefore affecting a large number of people in this community. [1]
His first death in San Francisco occurred in 1898, a French bark boat had several passengers who died of the plague. After his arrival in San Francisco, 18 other Chinatown residents died of the same symptoms. The mayor decided not to issue a general warning about the outbreak, thinking it would have a negative impact on San Francisco's commercial business. Chinatowns in quarantine, and sanitation services were delayed for some time until the presence of a bacteriological source was discovered. Sanitation campaign launched; Yet many citizens choose to avoid anything and everything to do with the plague for fear and contempt. The more deaths occurred, the city began to become more aggressive, and they began checking almost everyone in Chinatown to find out signs of illness. Therefore, the Chinese people began to distrust the government even more. Racism against Chinese immigrants is socially acceptable and social rights are often rejected by this community. This fact makes it more difficult for the Chinatown community to seek medical attention for their disease during the outbreak.
Revoke and current status
The Chinese Exclusion law was repealed by the 1943 Magnuson Act, at a time when China had become a US ally against Japan in World War II because the US needed to realize the image of justice and justice. Magnuson's law allows Chinese citizens who are already domiciled in the country to become naturalized citizens and stop hiding from the threat of deportation. While the Magnuson Act overturns the discriminatory Chinese Exclusion Act, it only allows national quotas of 105 Chinese immigrants per year, and does not lift restrictions on immigration from other Asian countries. Large-scale Chinese immigration did not occur until the passage of the 1965 Immigration and Citizenship Act. The persecution of Chinese immigrants reached a new level in the last decade, from 1956-1965, with the China Recognition Program launched by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which encouraged Chinese people who had commit immigration fraud to confess, thus qualifying for leniency in treatment.
Despite the fact that the exclusion action was lifted in 1943, California law prohibited whites from marrying whites not beaten until 1948, where the California Supreme Court ruled a ban on racial marriages in an unconstitutional state in Perez v. Sharp . Other states had such a law until 1967, when the United States Supreme Court unanimously voted in Loving v. Virginia that the anti-marriage law between nations is unconstitutional.
Even today, although all of its constituent parts have long been repealed, Chapter 7 of Title 8 of the United States Code goes to "Exception from China." This is the only chapter of the 15 chapters in Title 8 (Alien and Nationality) that are really focused on a particular nationality or ethnic group. As chapter 8 follows, "The Cooly Trade", it is composed entirely of laws that are recorded as "Removed" or "Omitted."
On June 18, 2012, the United States House of Representatives passed a resolution introduced by Congressman Judy Chu, who officially expressed regret from the House of Representatives for the Chinese Exclusion Act, an act that imposes almost all restrictions on Chinese immigration. and naturalized and denying the basic Chinese-American freedom because of their ethnicity. The resolution was approved by the US Senate in October 2011.
In 2014, the California Legislature took formal action to provide measures that officially recognize many achievements of Chinese-American boast in California and called on Congress to formally apologize for the adoption of the Chinese Exception Act of 1882. Republican Senate Leader Bob Huff (R -Diamond Bar) and the President of the Senate who came pro-Tem Kevin de LeÃÆ'ón (D-Los Angeles) served as Joint Writer for Joint Senate Resolution (SJR) 23 and Senate Resolution Senate (SCR) 122.
SJR 23 recognizes and celebrates the history and contributions of the American Chinese in California. The resolution also formally requested Congress to apologize for laws that resulted in the persecution of Chinese Americans, such as the Chinese Exclusion Act.
Source of the article : Wikipedia