Since the boom of the Gold Rush in 1848 and the abolishment of slavery in 1865,
America experienced an inflow of Chinese and Japanese immigrants who came to seek a better
life, along with other Asian immigrants. However, the influx of immigrants was met with
opposition from various groups, and the Asian immigrants were successful in resisting exclusion
and discrimination.
Initially, Chinese immigrants were welcomed as people who could offer cheap labor.
However, they were quickly targeted by politicians who used racism as their political platform.
For example, Samuel Gompers, who led the American Federation of Labor, viewed Chinese
laborers as a “yellow peril threat” who were taking away citizens’ jobs (Lecture, 9/12/17). Denis
Kearny, who led the Workingmen’s Party, also went against coolie labor and stirred up anti–
Chinese sentiments that led to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 (Lecture, 9/12/17). These
sentiments led to other riots such as the Truckee Incident of 1885-6, where townspeople
boycotted Chinese businesses, and the Tacoma Incident of 1886, where Chinese immigrants
were forced on boats and sent back to China.
For Japanese immigrants, the Meiji Restoration encouraged Japanese citizens to
assimilate by educating themselves, wearing Western clothing, becoming settlers, and avoiding
vice labor industries. Despite their efforts, the Japanese couldn’t avoid racism because of their
“racial uniform.” The Asiatic Exclusion League is a prime example of “racial lumping” where
Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, and Indians were targeted to be excluded from a “white man’s
country” (Lecture 9/17/17). The AEL focused on the San Francisco School District excluding
Japanese and Korean students from public schools and forcing them to attend Oriental schools
that existed for the Chinese.
In an effort to combat exclusion and discrimination, the Chinese utilized the 14th
Amendment to win legal cases such as 1886 Yick Wo vs. Hopkins that ruled a law which
appears neutral but applied in a discriminatory manner is unconstitutional, and 1898 Wong Kim
Ark vs. the United States affirmed that “citizenship by birth, Jus Solis (birthright), overrides Jus
sanguinis (by blood)” (Lecture, 9/19/17). The Chinese also conducted labor strikes (1869
TCRR), hired skilled attorneys, refused to register under Geary Law, and practiced forms of self-