America has often been referred to as a melting pot, because of its ever growing and diverse population; however, it didn’t get to be that way overnight. Through immigration, people from other countries have been able to come to the United States, like people from China. Chinese immigrants came during the 1800’s, coming from the west, but also east to New York, like our main characters in The Leavers. The Chinese were not happily welcomed, and they faced discrimination from U.S citizens and the government for many decades.
One issue that caused a lot of racial tensions, was work wages. Because Chinese immigrants needed money to send back to their families, it “left them little choice but to work for whatever wages they could” (“Chinese Immigration” ). They did any job they were able to do, and they usually did it for a lot less than their American born counterparts. This caused a lot tension between the two groups, as people were upset about losing money. The Chinese began to be looked down on, mainly because of greed. Rumors also started to spread about their morals, saying that China towns were places where “Chinese men congregated to visit prostitutes, smoke opium, or gamble” (“Chinese Immigration”). All of this combined, made people look down on them and caused Asian racism to rise.
In efforts to stop Chinese immigration, the government passed several pieces of legislature. “In 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, […] suspended the immigration of Chinese laborers (skilled or unskilled) for a period of 10 years”(“Chinese Immigration”), directly communicating to the Chinese that they are not welcomed. This open display of discrimination made it hard for people already living in the States, as they needed to carry around special I.D unlike everyone else. Even the though act was originally supposed to be only 10 years in length, the government kept extending it all the way to the end of the second world war, 60 years after the act was introduced. Although the ban was eventually put to an end, it didn’t erase the suffering they faced all that time nor did it stop the discrimination Asians still face today.
Work Cited
“Chinese Immigration and the Chinese Exclusion Acts.” Office of the Historian , U.S. Department of State, https://history.state.gov/milestones/1866-1898/chinese-immigration.
I think your post also ties in with why we see so much hate and aggression from Americans today toward many minority groups that come to the US from different countries. It’s the idea of “they’re stealing our jobs!” yet the jobs they are “stealing” are ones that barely pay for a person to live. Their jobs are the exploitation of a group in desperate need of money to survive.
Rather shocking to learn about the extent of the Chinese Exclusion Act. The fact that a people were banned from immigrating to the US seems surreal. This ban followed up straight into Japanese internment in the US, not hard to see how Asian peoples have been subject to injustice in the 19th and 20th centuries.
I think it is sad how discrimination against the Asian community still exists in America today. It is interesting that you mentioned this historical era because I think it helps bring to light one of the main causes for people’s opposition to letting Asian immigrants in. It also shows how differing the cultures between China and the United States are. Because many of the practices the Chinese perform are very looked down on by many Americans, it sparks unrest within communities that are very populated by Asians as well as government leaders who are prejudiced towards them. I am glad you wrote about this topic because it is a reminder of how difficult and emotionally exhausting it was for many immigrants to build a new life here.
Thanks for sharing your blogpost. Your post gave some more insight on how racism has been systemically woven into laws in the US.
Your post does a great job at summarizing many of the biggest issues faced by Asian Americans and Asian immigrants in America. My high school history teacher often likened America to a salad bowl rather than a melting pot, because a melting pot implies assimilation, but in a salad, each component is able to maintain its unique identity while still being a part of the bigger group. The history of Asian American oppression has continued into the current decade. It is important that this history is taught so we can work against continuing it, but unfortunately Asian American hate crimes are very prevalent.