Discrimination in the 19th Century - Essay Example

? Discrimination in the 19th Century al Affiliation Discrimination especially in America can be traced many years back. When the white settlers colonized the natives Americans, this marked the beginning of discrimination. They acquired the lands of these natives using unjust means like warfare. In recent years, discrimination has declined compared to the previous years. Many countries across the globe are sensitizing their people on the negative consequences of discrimination. Discrimination does not come only through race; it can also be seen in job employment, religion, gender among others. People seem to have forgotten that every human being is entitled to equal treatment and equal rights. Discrimination has been seen to be targeted to the poor, minority communities and not the popular communities. The consequences of all these discriminative activities have affected today’s society in different sectors. Discrimination is a cancerous disease that deserves to be eliminated, so that the world can be a safe place for everyone. Keywords: Discrimination, 19th Century, Chinese Americans, Hysteria, Anti-Chinese Introduction Many are times that people in the world and especially the politicians and perhaps a high percentage of prospering individuals are immune to the issues related discrimination, and especially when it comes to workers. This is especially seen in the process of hiring people for jobs, where some people miss out on opportunities. However big or small, all kind of discrimination does affect a lot of people in the end (Hullet, 2011). If a member of the family has undergone some kind of discrimination, it is very heartbreaking; it really affects the entire family and eventually, the whole society. It is so unfortunate that discrimination has resulted to abuse of human rights. In the year 1982 when the president of the United States was Ronald Reagan, he gave orders to a task force on drug smuggling. This order was direct towards to the poor, minority, urban neighborhoods, where drug dealing tended to be very easy to be detected. This does not mean that the high class neighborhood did not have drug peddlers and barons. This shows the poor people were being accused of an issue, which some did not quite understand (Hullet, 2011). What is Discrimination? Discrimination is a term that has been used to refer to any unequal treatment of harassment to a person, either because of race, religion, class, gender among others, and eventually causes harm (“What is Discrimination?,” 2013). People have the right to equal treatment and opportunities without being discriminated or being harassed in all areas covered by the human rights code. So any unjust action, be it in the courts, schools, or work places against a person is considered as discrimination. Discrimination in the 19th Century Discrimination against the Chinese in the years 1885-1886 During the period between 1885- 1886, anti-Chinese hysteria was experienced. According to McClain, there were outbursts of individual and collective violence, aimed at people of Chinese origin, who had inhabited California since their immigration (1996). This is the place most of them called home, especially those who were born after the immigration. Occasionally, this violence would turn into full scale riots towards the Chinese. In 1871, a major disturbance in Los Angels led to the deaths of 19 Chinese people (McClain, 1996). In 1875, in a small town called Watsonville in California, a mob of anti-Chinese was reported to drive the Chinese who were living there out of the town. The Chinese laundries in San Francisco had also been destroyed by the anti-Chinese riots. In the winter of 1886 to 1885, there was the worst race of riots in the American history, which took the lives of 28 Chinese Laborers in the town of Rock Springs, and also left the section of Chinese destroyed. In the same year in October, a hostile crowd invaded a section of the Chinese people in Seattle and threatened the inhabitants (McClain, 1996). These were the most serious incidences that show how the Chinese were discriminated. The representatives of the Chinese community were very agitated because of these incidences that were a clear indication of how the Chinese community, was discriminated against by the Americans. The incident of Rock Springs especially led to a major diplomatic confrontation between the department of state and the Chinese legation in Washington. There were a lot of protests and pleas among the Chinese community to express their concern on the discrimination most of them were experiencing (McClain, 1996). As the riots continued against the Chinese, the federal authorities decided that they had a responsibility of bringing protection to the Chinese as they had demanded. President Grover Cleveland’s administration authorized that an army was to escort Chinese representatives, who were conducting investigations in Rock Springs. He also issued an ultimatum to the white inhabitants, where he threatened to send troops to that area if the disorders did not cease. In as much as this was done, what the nation did not directly admit is that in one way or the other, they had some contributions in those riots. However, the Chinese representatives still maintained their blame to the government. The American government promised to take legal action towards or against all those wrongdoers, so as to protect the Chinese lives and property (McClain, 1996). In the views of the Chinese, the whole story of arresting the wrong doers did not satisfy them. The Chinese people had the view that local authorities might prosecute ordinary criminal acts towards Chinese, but this did not mean that the Chinese were fully protected. They saw it as unrealistic to expect the local authorities to affect the law to political movements, which had wide societal support (McClain, 1996). This is an event that has clearly brought out the discrimination that the Chinese went through in the hands of the white inhabitants. This event took place in the 19th century, but there are consequences that have followed the current generation. Some of the consequences are as follows: Discrimination is an aspect that is part of the lives of the Chinese youth. They are often discriminated more than their fellow Latino Americans. A study which was done in 2008 among sixth grade Chinese American and African American students found out from the reports that the Chinese Americans reported more incidences of discrimination, compared to the African Americans (Leon, Juang & Qin, 2011). The discrimination against the Chinese Americans in the nineteenth century has lead to negative association between discrimination and depression, and especially in schools. In other words, due to discrimination in school, most of the Chinese students have been diagnosed with depression. Also, as a result of discrimination among the students, the Chinese students have been found to have low self esteem and thus perform poorly (Leon, Juang & Qin, 2011). It has also been realized that the students with a high ethnic centrality have a lot of motivation when it comes to academics; that they had greater value for their education, more than the ethnic minorities, such as the Chinese American. Today, discrimination against the Chinese community can be seen in the job market. Most of the employment expectations in America in the present day are such as good accent, language among others. Most of the Chinese people lose job opportunities due to search expectations. This can be termed as accent discrimination, which should not be a hindrance (Leon, Juang & Qin, 2011). In conclusion, much of today’s discrimination and especially racial discrimination among other kinds of discrimination as seen earlier can be traced back to many centuries ago. The American Civil Liberties Union has been on the fore front in advocating for an end to all types of discrimination. It has also made legal provisions of legal support to organizations and individuals who have been victims of discrimination. Discrimination is very a delicate problem which has affected the whole world and should be handled with a lot of care. Every human being is entitled to equal treatment, and this has been advocated for by many countries in their constitutions. Reference List Hulett, John K. (2011). Age Discrimination: an Epidemic in America: Affecting People of All Ages. Bloomington: Author House Publishing.  Leon, Frederick T. L., Juang, L. & Qin, Desiree B. (2011). Asian American and Pacific Islander Children and Mental Health, Volume 1. California: ABC-CLIO, LLC. McClain, Charles J. (1996). In Search of Equality: The Chinese Struggle Against Discrimination in Nineteenth-Century America. California: University of California Press. What is Discrimination? (2013, June 19). Retrieved September 27, 2013, from http://www.hrlsc.on.ca/en/whatisdiscrimination.aspx   Read More