Political Cartoons, Chinese Immigration and the Manifest Destiny Belief - Essay Example

The Whites, as a result, started portraying in negative stereotypes as evil and corrupt. With time, the Chinese population tripled and continued replacing those blacks and whites who were striking for higher wages. This led to Sino phobia a fear for Chinese people and as a result, the implementation of the Exclusion Act to control Chinese immigration. The Act resulted in a major decline among the Chinese population. The Chinese faced extreme violation of their rights but could do nothing since they were not citizens.

The woman is an allegory of independence. She represents freedom from the hampering conditions.The Chinese man’s hair and cultural cloak represent resistance to American progress. Ironically, the woman has the railroad to the west inscribed in her dress meaning she is advocating for white civilization to the west. The cutting of the Chinese man’s hair is the significance of assimilation into the white culture. Manifest Destiny was a belief by the white Americans that they were to possess and occupy the North American Continent.

People got lured to move westwards. In the belief, that they were to acquire large tracts of land at low prices. .The idea of Manifest Destiny thus relates to the image since the woman with the railroad inscribed in her gown symbolizes the Whites civilization towards the west despite resistance by the Chinese. It shows that the Whites will stop at nothing since they believe it is their divine right to do so. Reasons why the Chinese artists lacked recognition in the U.S in the 19th Century. Most of the immigrant races in America could blend into the Anglo society.

Unfortunately,due to their physical appearance, The Chinese faced a lot of discrimination and got denied citizenship. Therefore, they had no access to justice in case their rights got violated. They lacked access to pursue professional painting. They did not have the resources to engage in the scholarly art. The Chinese were illiterate thus practicing painting as an art was difficult for them. Most of them had travelled to the States in pursuit of greener pastures to cater for their families.

Unlike the Whites, the Chinese were not recorded for inclusion in the historical sources of art meaning there would be no source of remembrance for them. The Chinese rarely participated in the Western European art of oil painting that would have provided a platform to master and sharpen their skills. However, those who did such as Wore’s students received very little recognition. The Chinese focused only on their cultural heritage and whatever paintings they worked on got sent home to their families.

They did not include European complements and signs of status. The Exclusion Act led to heightened Sino phobia. This led to confiscation of their art objects which made it difficult for them to practice the art profession. Part Two: Short Answered Questions 1. Significance of Edmonia Lewis’ Forever Free Sculpture The sculpture is a visual proof to a society in which the female is inferior to the male. It presents a reformed image of the African-American family after slavery.The role of women applied to free black people as well as to white people, and in this sense, Lewis' freedwoman got connected to all women.

Like partner, the African-American female was supposed to be submissive and pious.The enslaved woman lived in paradox. She was both the