Chinese Immigration and Exclusion

After the American Civil War, Chinese workers migrated to the United States. First, to work in the gold mines, but also to take agricultural jobs, and factory work, especially in the garment industry. Chinese immigrants were active in building railroads in the American west, and as Chinese laborers grew successful in the United States, a number of them became entrepreneurs in their own ways. As the numbers of Chinese laborers increased, so did the numbers of anti-Chinese sentiment among other workers in American. This finally resulted in legislation that aimed to limit future immigration of Chinese workers to the United States, and threatened to divide diplomatic relations between the United States and China.



According to Document A, an Anti-Chinese Play from 1879 called, " The Chinese Must Go," Americans passed the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act because the Chinese complained and expected too much. Their ideas were that they were smarter and should only work and get payed - not the Americans. "Chinaman plenty work, plenty money, plenty to eat. White man no work, no money, die-sabee?"According to Document B, a Political Cartoon from 1871 by Thomas Nast for Harper's Weekly, Americans passed the 1822 Chinese Exclusion Act because the Chinese are not only taking the Americans' jobs but the other immigrants' jobs as well. The cartoon displays immigrants vs immigrants and in the wall on the back many negative things are being said about the Chinese. "The lowest and vilest of the human race."

According to Document C, a speech to the workingmen of San Francisco from August 1888, Americans passed the 1822 Chinese Exclusion Act because, again, Chinese are taking away the Americans' jobs. "The boot, shoe and cigar industries are almost entirely in their hands." 
According to Document D, an excerpt from Lee Chew's autobiography from 1903 called "The Biography of a Chinaman," Americans passed the 1822 Chinese Exclusion Act because the other immigrants envied the Chinese for their good qualities of work. The Chinese were simply better. "The Chinese were persecuted, not for their vices [sins], but for their virtues [good qualities]."