Asian Immigration
Why did Chinese immigrants come to
the United States?
I. Mid-1800s
A. Chinese population
1. Reached about 430 million
2. Suffering
a. Unemployment
b. Poverty
c. Famine
B. Taiping Rebellion
1. Erupted in 1850
2. Insurrection caused so much more suffering
C. 1860s construction on the Central Pacific Railroad
began
D. Railroad work caused a demand for further Chinese
immigration
II. Settling of Asian Immigrants
A. Chinese
1. Settled mainly in western cities
2. Employment
a. Laborers
b. Servants
c. Skilled trades
d. Merchants
B. Japanese
1. Immigration soars between 1900 and 1910
2. Causes
a. Industrialization
b. Economic problems
III. Angel Island
A. Prior to 1910
1. Asian immigrants entered through California
through San Francisco
2. Mukuk (wooden house)
a. A 2-story shed located at the wharf
b. Held as many as 500 people at a time
B. January 1910
1. California opened a barracks for Asian
immigrants
2. Most were young men in their teens or twenties
3. They could wait for months
4. Several immigrants recorded their journey
anonymously on the walls
There are tens of thousands of poems on these walls
They are all cries of suffering and sadness
The day I am rid of this prison and become successful
I must remember that this chapter once existed
I must be frugal in my dailyneeds
Needless extravagance usually leads to ruin
All my compatriots should remember China
Once you have made some small gains,
you should return home early.
Written by one from Heungshan
IV. Restrictions on Asian Immigration
A. Anti-Chinese sentiment
1. Lead to racial violence
2. Denis Kearney, an Irish immigrant
a. Organized the Workingman’s Party of California to
fight Chinese immigration
b. Party won seats in the California legislature and
pushed to cut off Chinese immigration
B. Chinese Exclusion Act
1. 1882, Congress passed this into law
a. Barred Chinese immigration for 10 years
b. Prevented the Chinese already in the country
from becoming citizens
2. Chinese reaction
a. Letter writing campaigns to President
b. File suit in federal court
3. All efforts fail to repeal the law
4. Congressional action
a. Renewed in 1892
b. Permanent in 1902
c. Repealed in 1943
C. Response to Japanese immigration
1. San Francisco Board of Education
a. Ordered “all Chinese and Korean” children to attend
the racially segregated “Oriental School” in the city’s
Chinatown neighborhood.
b. The directive caused an international incident
2. Japan saw this as an insult to the treatment of its people.
D. Theodore Roosevelt
1. “Gentleman’s Agreement”
a. He would limit Japanese immigration
b. School board had to rescind its segregation order
2. T.R. negotiated a decrease in Japanese immigration with
Japan
3. Board revoked its segregation order
4. Leaders of both countries had to uphold the agreement
Review Questions
1. Why did Chinese immigrants come to the United
States?
2. Why did Japanese immigrants come to the United
States?
3. Why did the federal government pass the Chinese
Exclusion Act?
4. What government actions limited Asian immigration?
5. Explain the significance of Angel Island.
6. Explain the significance of the Chinese Exclusion Act.
7. Explain the significance of the “Gentleman’s
Agreement.”
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