The Chinese Exclusion Act Analysis - Research Paper Example

?Running head: The 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act How 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act impacts the North American Society Insert Insert Grade Insert Tutor’s Name 05 May 2012 Introduction The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was of profound implication to the North American society in the sense that it affected the people of Chinese origin who were the prime targets of the act as well as Caucasians (Yung 45). Therefore, the Act, formulated at the backdrop of increased anti-Chinese campaigns, materially affected the North American region and was a massive blow to the migration of Chinese laborers to the western United States. Because whatever occurs in history has an effect on the prospect, it is significantly imperative to understand the background of the Act along with how it influenced the North American community and other sections of society. Conceivably, by evaluating the past represented by implications of the Chinese exclusion Act, it might be achievable to build up a superior prospect in a perceptible way. This paper endeavors to provide research on the factors behind the Act, the implications of the Act particularly on North America and the milieu of the legislation. Additionally, the paper will give the results on the appraisal of the happenings adjacent to the Chinese exclusion Act, its execution along with issues emanating from its enactment and implementation. Obviously, any law touching on sensitive issues like race and immigration will derive numerous controversies and conflicts. The research paper will illuminate on the controversies of the incidence of the Act and its position in the vast Asian American studies. Alternative perspectives of the Act, with respect to the 19th century, and its relationship with contemporary thought will form part of the discussion shedding more light on the Act. In essence, the exclusion Act led to a fall in economic production around the country because the Asians especially Chinese (barred from migrating to America) were hardworking individuals who played a prominent role in economic production (Powell 67). The enactment of legislations that focus on categories of people during times of need is of no gain to any population. The Cause and Effect of the Act The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, emanated from decades of Chinese intolerance signified by increased riots and campaigns against the mounting presence of Chinese laborers in parts of the United States. This culminated into the launch of decades of Chinese exclusion witnessed by the barring of Chinese people from migrating to America for ten years and later indefinitely (Daniels and Graham 22). Enacted in 1882, the Act was the peak of three decades of continuous racism in America. Anti-Chinese perceptions had prevailed right from the momentous migration of the Chinese throughout the period of Gold Rush. In this period, miners and prospectors placed several taxes and legislations to obstruct the success of people of Chinese origin. The increase of Chinese migration into America augmented racial apprehensions, a factor that was significantly becoming a source of serious social misunderstandings. The migration of Chinese emanate from the ground of job rivalry by the whites who perceived the Chinese as a huge threat to their jobs and financial success. Though, the perceptions towards most perspectives were more of racial than economic nature and that the introduction of economic dimensions aimed at destructing the public from the inherent racial hatred towards the Chinese people. The exclusion act was, therefore, culmination of inherent racial mistrust directed towards Chinese immigrants and primarily intended to last a period of ten years. However, the congress prolonged period of the Act to indefinite in 1902 thus cementing the existent racial perceptions against the Chinese group. The Chinese were not quick to react to Act as majority of them conflicted the idea of oppression, and many chose to stay silent on the issue. The advent of the Second World War was a significant development in the relationship linking China and America. This was because China was a dependable ally of America in the war (Gyory 28-30). The cooperation of China and USA in the war was imperative in the racial equation of Chinese immigrants in America because of the cancellation Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, but the harm had already been made, and an enduring legacy remained. The United States had succeeded in blocking the further immigration of Chinese into the country and also regulated the growth of Chinese population. This helped in blocking the naturalization of Chinese immigrants into the United States as citizens. These were the principal parameters that guided the enactment of the legislation and by its annulling time, with most of the objectives achieved. Particularly the fear of Chinese empowerment was a crucial factor that guided the formulation of the act, informed by increased anti Chinese campaigns and riots. All these factors played a crucial role in the whole endeavor of formulating an exclusion act against the Chinese immigrants perceived by the white Americans as a threat to their opportunities for economic expansion. The riots organized by labor activists based more on racist perceptions than economic consideration. However, the activist insisted on the danger posed by the immigrants economically. The Exclusive Act culminated from the lengthy activism against Chinese immigrants, which became more rampant as more people emigrated from China to the United States. Subsequent to the breakthrough of gold in California during 1848, a large number of Chinese immigrants traveled to America to provide labor in the mines along with other avenues like agriculture, railroads and general labor platforms created by the increasingly developing frontier community. In the period linking 1854 and 1868, Chinese laborers to the tune of 75000 were working on projects associated with the western intercontinental railroad while a few others worked in shoe manufacturing plants. Most of immigrants from China came from the working class and mainly from the region of Kwangtung, a section located on the brink of river Yangtze. Therefore, the Chinese arrived in the United States in search for opportunities for work and better living and also escaped from their falling realm on the economic basis. The Gold Rush occurred at a time of utter impoverishment on the part of China, therefore, offering an opportunity for economic relief of the Chinese immigrants who were regularly ready to work in uncomfortable grounds as well as with unusually meager pay. The Chinese workers were an exploited group particularly in California because they worked in severe avenues, paid less, and most were guys. The immigrants were working in mines and laundries. However, antagonism grew fast and was robust in California who found it an opportunity to attack them as away of increasing their feeble status in America. American miners primarily opposed the Chinese because they perceived the determined and meagerly remunerated Chinese immigrants as a huge factor in plummeting wages. Significantly Effects of the Implementation Act The implementation of the act immensely affected people in North America in a significant way. In fact, the Act was a considerable historical component whose implications impacts all along. In order to appreciate the consequences of the act especially on the North American society, it is imperative to note that the main catalyst to the exclusion act was the racial perceptions founded on social, economic and political parameters. The general perception was that the Chinese were outsiders who were out to make improvement in America. Therefore, due to their hardworking nature along with their willingness to work in poor conditions with less pay, the Chinese were formidable threat to native whites regarding job security as well as economic productivity. The envision was that if Chinese immigrants were to continue with the trend then they would have probably taken over the economy and the job market. This would have made it difficult for the natives to survive. The numeral increase of Chinese through immigration, empowerment and birth, which could have titled in favor of the Chinese making it difficult to contain their rise form the basis of the political aspect. Therefore, a wide spectrum of parameters perceived as against the local population of American whites laid the foundation of the Chinese exclusion act. In order to ensure that Chinese immigrants reduced in number, and did not become naturalized as citizens, the act underwent broad implementation. This was a positive step in ensuring that the American resources remained with the natural citizens of the country, hence, erasing any conflict of interest that could have prevailed in America. The Act made it so difficult for Chinese immigrants to become citizens thus making impossible their assimilation in the American citizenry. Furthermore, the extension of the act from the initial ten years to indefinite denies the Chinese more prospects to tour the US and ensure regulation (in numbers) on the current immigrants residing in America. Therefore, most Chinese immigrants were of male gender and a restriction on female immigrants was a successful gimmick in regulating their population increase. In overall, the Chinese exclusion act of 1888 served its purposes in America by reducing the influence of Chinese immigrant in the country as well as safeguarding the opportunities for work, economic productivity and resources to Native American whites threatened by the prevalence of cheap labor from Chinese immigrants. Hence, by the repeal of the act in 1945, it had served its purpose and significantly controlled the entry and prevalence of people of Chinese immigrant into the United States. The immediate effect of the Chinese exclusion act was the reduction of economic productivity, linked to the barring of immigration from China. The Chinese were hardworking individuals who could work in any condition and accepted low pay. So they were incidental to the rapid economic developments in areas where they worked the development of the railroad, mine and laundry particularly in California and adjacent areas. The Act dealt a blow to the prevalence and increase of cheap and reliable labor from China, therefore, reducing economic activity and growth. The rationale behind measuring this factor was that the local population of American whites could not work with the same zeal and intensity as the Chinese coolies, and got inclination to high wages making it costly for the employing institutions. The most obvious effect of the exclusion Act is its prohibition up to the time of its cancellation later in 1943. This was significant in cutting the growth and expansion of the Chinese society in America, which was among the reason behind the act. The growing presence of Chinese immigrant in the United States was becoming a dominant factor in the growing apprehensions, and American whites were against the increment in the presence of Chinese coolies perceived as being an ardent challenge to their access to job opportunities, resources and economic empowerment associated with the gold. The Chinese immigration inner drive was the gold rush, which represented an economic opportunity for immigrants to make a living. Poverty that was prevalent in China at the moment and that necessitated the immigration of most Chinese people to the North American continent compounded this. The Chinese exclusion regulations altered the lives of Chinese Americans in a significant way through the restrictions introduced by the act (Soennichsen 34). In essence, the Chinese Americans restriction was in settlement, operations and legal capability as provided for by the law. The aim of these laws was to reduce the expansion and growth of the immigrants, as well as dilute any threat on jobs and economic empowerment presented by the growing Chinese presence in the country. Similarly, the Act changed the immigration patterns in the United States through the introduction of the restrictions aimed at controlling the entry and prevalence of immigrants into the United States. In fact, the exclusion legislation was symbolic of the emergence of America as a gate keeping country so obsessed with the regulation of immigrant activity. The act, therefore, represented the new approach taken by America intended to control the activities of people emigrating from other countries. The new American approach included border enforcement, scrutiny, and the development of deportation policies that was new to the practice of the United States. Circumventing the Exclusion Act The Chinese exclusion regulation was a prodigious blow to the Chinese immigrants especially those who had not traveled to America and intended to emigrate. This was distressing news to the Chinese because their chance to pursue a better life got obstructions from the new restrictions, which prevented the mass movement of people to the country. In as much as the period signified a tremendously challenging moment for the would-be immigrants, they designed several methods to circumvent to enter the United States. However, their efforts encountered strict surveillance, scrutiny and border watchfulness that characterized the exclusion act. As a result, in as much as several Chinese people made efforts to travel to the United States during the prevalence of the exclusion act only a few succeeded in realizing their dream. This was mainly by the strict policies and procedures that dogged the protocol of qualifying to travel to the United States. Government authorities, charged with implementing the law, conducted comprehensive examination of candidates prior to allowing them to go into the US. In overall, the Act was a massive blow to Chinese endeavors to immigrate to the United States but the strict laws and policies did not deter them from using undercover methods to enter America. The dire efforts established to counter the exclusion law were evidence of the several economic conditions in China. The enactment, of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, resulted into the severe regulation regarding the movement of Chinese to North America (Gyory 50-54). Subjected to thorough scrutiny, the entry of traders along with their folks continued but. This window was open so as to allow the country to gain from the commercial activities linking the two nations. In order to counter this act of unfairness, the Chinese developed methods to enter the country using impersonation where even elderly traders and workers who never hand children claimed to have sons (Chang 47-49). Therefore, they would exchange immigration papers to those who wanted to move to America in seeking better lives. The impersonators, therefore, could attempt to enter America using the papers hoping not to be traced. However, American authorities were vigilant and applied several methods of detecting the authenticity of the information given by the people seeking to enter the United States (Rodrigues 33). Therefore, personal questions to the candidates regarding the description of their relatives and their homes designed to cut down on illegal immigration arose. Conclusion In conclusion, the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act was a culmination of decades of racial discrimination towards Chinese Immigrants who worked in various ventures. In the US, the regulation had immense impacts to the North American Society. The initial idea was for the act to last for ten years but received indefinite extension until its annulment in the Second World War. This reduced economic production because the Chinese immigrants were open to severe circumstances and lower remuneration. In spite of the strict regulations, the Chinese community sought unlawful methods to circumvent the Act. The partnership of US and China was incidental in the cancellation of the Act, perceived as a sign of gratitude to China by America for its support in the war. Works Cited Daniels, Roger and Graham, Otis. Debating American Immigration, 1882- Present. Washington: Rowman & Littlefield, 2001. Print Chang, Iris. The Chinese in America: A Narrative History. Washington: Viking, 2003.Print Gyory, Andrew. Closing the Gate: Race, Politics, and the Chinese Exclusion Act. New York: Univ of North Carolina Press, 1998. Print Powell, John. Encyclopedia of North American Immigration. Washington: InfoBase Publishing, 2005. Print Rodrigues, Marc. Repositioning North American Migration History: New Directions in Modern Continental Migration, Citizenship, and Community. Washington: University Rochester Press, 2004. Print Soennichsen, John. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. Washington: ABC-CLIO, 2011. Print Yung, Judy. Unbound Voices: A Documentary History of Chinese Women in San Francisco. California: University of California Press, 1999. Print Read More