Treatment of Chinese Immigrants in the United States Before World War II

By Michael Briski, Ross Bernhaut, Lexi Sheppard, and Casey Walsh

 

 

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Immigrations Restrictions and Hardships

 

Angel Island

 

     Angel Island, an Immigration Station off the coast of San Francisco, was built to control the immigration of Chinese people into the U.S.  Its construction began in 1905 and was completed in 1910.  The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 forbade immigrants of certain Asian countries or of a certain status in society from entering the U.S., but people from China were the most affected by these laws.  Although the U.S. could prevent many Chinese immirgrants from entering the country, they had to let those with fathers who were citizens into America, because that would make them citizens.  So, many people would create fraudulent documents which showed that their father was a U.S. citizen.  These immigrants became known as "paper sons" and "paper daughters" because they were only the children of U.S. citizens on paper.  These documents also contained information about their relatives and home.  In the early 1900s, there were not official records for most people, so immigration officials at Angel Island would interrogate the immigrants to decide if they were truly citizens.  As a result, the immigrants had to study their fake documents thoroughly and be able to answer any question about their family.  In addition, the immigrants needed witnesses.  So, if the witnesses lived on the other side of the country, then it would take longer to get recognized as a citizen.  While the immigrants were awaiting the officials' decision on whether they would be accepted as a U.S. citizen or deported, they had to stay in an isolated detention center on Angel Island and live in poor conditions.  The immigrants had to stay in the detention facility for anywhere between two weeks and two years.  Although all Chinese immigrants to the U.S. before World War II faced many hardships, around 175,000 came to Angel Island between 1910 and 1940, when Angel Island closed shortly after a fire damaged part of the facility.  Finally in 1943, with China as an ally of the U.S. in World War II, the government repealed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.  ^[2]

 

Chinese Immigration to the U.S. Through Canada

 

     In the 1900s, before World War II, restrictions on Chinese immigration constantly increased.  Only students, merchants, and diplomats had the right to immigrate into the United States without difficulty.  Because of this, many Chinese immigrants first traveled to Canada, and then attempted to illegally enter the United States. Over 55,000 Chinese immigrants paid a $50 head tax between 1886 and 1911 in order to enter Canada. During this period, a gender ratio of twenty-seven men to one woman within the United States caused the mistreatment and abuse of Chinese women. These women were sold into sexual slavery within Chinatowns by desperate families. ^[3]

 

Reasons For the Government Actions

 

     The United States government tried to strictly cut down the number of Chinese people that wanted to immigrate.  This became a great concern to many immigrants that came to America in search for the inexpensive labor that was necessary for country-wide jobs such as railroad construction.  However, this created competition with American workers, and the country started to feel urges of nativism.  Conflicts such as these grew into serious problems, which called for the enactments of acts that prevented Chinese immigration (including the later-consequential Act to Prohibit the Coming of Chinese Persons into the United States and the Act to Repeal the Chinese Exclusion Acts, to Establish Quotas, and for Other Purposes). Many of the federal actions that excluded Chinese immigrants were put into effect by Office of the Superintendent of Immigration, which became responsible for handling the Chinese immigration in 1900.  Government offices such as this hired "Chinese inspectors" to strictly enfore the laws.  For a long time, Chinese immigrants feared that they would not be able to stay in America or even be allowed to come to the country. ^[4]

 

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Cultural Aspects of Chinese Immigration 

 

     The Chinese were accepted into America for awhile, but they were not treated the same as Americans.  They took jobs that paid lower wages, and were denied more professional jobs.  In 1906, schools in San Francisco segregated American children from Asian children.  The Chinese experienced harsh treatment and they did not consider themselves to be permanent immigrants in the U.S.  The Chinese were treated differently in America, and most of them planned on returning to China eventually.  They were discriminated against, and were often confused with Japanese people or people from the Philippines.  Each group has different beliefs and they did not appreciate being called something that they were not.  In these ways, Chinese immigrants faced prejudice in America.^[6]

 

Chinatowns

 

     During the 1930s and the 1940s, many people from China immigrated over to America.  The Chinese established "Chinatowns" with Chinese restaurants and stores.  These towns became popular places for Chinese immigrants to merge together.  The Chinese had a chance to preserve their culture, while also being able to live in a free, democratic nation.  These Chinatowns also became popular places for Americans to welcome their new members in their country, and also enjoy the Chinese culture in America.  In some ways, this Chinese culture became a part of American life. ^[7]

 

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The political cartoon above provides an artistic representation of the hardships that came along with the exclusion of Chinese immigrants before World War II

 

Main Websites for Information

 

http://www.fofweb.com/History

 

http://www.asianamerican.com

 

http://www.archives.gov/locations/finding-aids/chinese-immigration.html

 

http://www.angelisland.org/immigr02.html 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And speaking of immigrants...

 

Led Zeppelin - Immigrant Song.mp3