history of asians in context Flashcards
naturalization act of 1790
“any alien, being a free white person, may be admitted to become a citizen of the US”
filipino sailors
first to settle in the US around 1750 in the louisiana region
1790s
chinese domestic servants in NY
NINA
- “no irish need apply”
- great potato famine caused mass immigration to east coast in 1840s
chinese sojournors
came to CA for gold rush
1867 chinese workers’ strike
- union pacific vs. central pacific
1865 transcontinental railroad project
- chinese sojourners didn’t find much gold
- couldn’t go back to china
- stayed to work on small businesses (TCR) to make a living
why did the chinese go on strike?
- earned 60% of other workers
- dangerous conditions
- long hours, no breaks
result of the 1867 chinese workers’ strike
the chinese were threatened with no wages, so they continued their work (aka big flop)
13th amendment (1865)
abolished slavery
14th amendment (1868)
people born in the US are citizens
naturalization act of 1870
only white and black people can be citizens
chinese exclusion act of 1882
- no chinese labor immigration (first for 10 years)
- no chinese could be a citizen
- no land, interracial marriage, homeowning, good jobs, education
- first US law that specifically targeted and singled out an ethnic group
formation of chinatowns
- earlier concentrations formed with chinese laborers
- after exclusion, chinese had no choice but to retreat into their own isolated communities
ethnic enclave
concentration of a certain ethnic group in a well-defined neighborhood
- e.g. chinatown
early japanese immigrants
- 2nd largest immigrant asian group in US in late 19th century
- part of imperial expansionism
- 20,000 picture brides immigrated (diff from chinese)
- powerful homeland assured entrance with passports
yellow peril
- painting of german kaiser wilhelm II’s dream in 1895
- like chinese, japanese viewed as “unassimilable” cheap laborers
- white people suspected they were a “colonizing” force sent to take over the west coast
“the rising tide of color” by lothrop stoddard
3 dangers
- peril of arms (military expansion)
- peril of markets (economic competition)
- peril of immigration
gentlemen’s agreement of 1907
- japan would stop issuing passports for passage to the US/hawaii to male laborers
- compromise, US school board allowed japanese students to attend public schools
what made japanese immigrants differ from chinese immigrants?
they were allowed to bring their families…picture brides
“becoming american: the chinese experience” documentary
- 1882 – permanent aliens?
- AD papers
- scott act
scott act of 1888
prohibited US resident chinese laborers from returning to US
1906 san francisco earthquake and fire
- burned birth certificates and chinese could say they were born in america and there was no proof
- brought about paper sons
paper sons
immigrant buying papers from a chinese american citizen who agreed to pretend to be the their relative
ellis island vs. angel island
paper sons were detained on angel island
- ellis → symbol of hope
- angel → symbol of detention
anna may wong
- first chinese film star
- often portrayed as a caricature of chinese people
- revolutionized film industry for asian americans
early korean immigrants
- fleeing japanese colonialism
- 1882 treaty already allowed immigration
more occupationally diverse, 70% literate and 40% were christian (converted by american missionaries) - different from chinese and japanese laborers
importance of koreans in US
- prominent role in the korean independence movement
- korean women active in nationalist activities
japanese-korean exclusion league
“we are actively meeting to get these folks out of the country”
early south asian immigrants
- 8,055 admitted from 1910 to 1932
- “hindu invasion”
- anticolonial and nationalist struggles against british imperialism
how were south asian immigrants excluded?
- “persons of poor physique” or “likely to become a public charge” in laws
- coded language went from explicit to implicit
early filipino immigrants
- philippines under US colonial rule began before turn of 20th century
- 150k filipinos → “US nationals”
- not subjected to same immigration restrictions
what caused dissonance for the early filipino immigrants?
- taught that they were americans when in the philippines, but faced with unequal treatment as asians in the US
- “little brown brothers” who would need “50 or 100 years” of close supervision
1943 tydings-mcduffie act (philippine commonwealth and independence act)
- changed filipinos’ status from US “nationals” to “aliens”
- backwards from what we saw from other asian groups
immigration act of 1917
no immigration from the “asiatic barred zone”
- literacy test
- new categories of inadmissible people “mentally defective”
takao ozawa v. US (1922)
court ruled that ozawa was ineligible for naturalization as a US citizen because he wasn’t considered “white”
US v. bhagat singh thind (1923)
- “caucasian” but not white in the eyes of the “common man”
- subsequently, other indian americans lost their naturalization
immigration act of 1924 (johnson-reed act)
national origin quota system (2% rule)
2% rule
will only admit 2% of a certain country’s population
why did they use the 1890 census instead of 1920 for the 2% rule?
wanted less asian immigrants and more european immigrants
executive order 9066 (1942)
resulting in japanese internment during WW2
- rapid response to pearl harbor
chinese exclusion repeal act of 1943 (magnuson act)
ended chinese immigration ban, but kept strict quotas
immigration and nationality act of 1952 (mccarran–walter act)
- allowed asian immigrants to become citizens
- starting to unravel nation quota system of bringing people into the country
third world liberation front
coalition of “student groups” advocating for rights and representation of students from marginalized communities
results of TWLF
- addition admission spots for underrepresented students
- re-hiring of select faculty members
- establishment of a college of ethnic studies
racial formation theory (omi and winant)
race is socially constructed and has a profound determinant of one’s political rights, location in labor market, and sense of “identity”
what was happening during the emergence of panethnicity?
- immigration and nationality act of 1965
- civil rights movement
- post racial discrimination, organizing to address inequality
panethnicity
process through which multiple ethnic groups relax and widen their boundaries to forge a new, broader grouping and identity
