Progressive Americans and the Chinese Exclusion Act in the Late Nineteenth Century
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Rollins College Rollins Scholarship Online Faculty Publications Summer 2019 Standing Up Against Racial Discrimination: Progressive Americans and the Chinese Exclusion Act in the Late Nineteenth Century Wenxian Zhang Rollins College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.rollins.edu/as_facpub Part of the American Politics Commons, Migration Studies Commons, Public Affairs Commons, Public Policy Commons, and the Race and Ethnicity Commons Published In Zhang, Wenxian. "Standing Up Against Racial Discrimination: Progressive Americans and the Chinese Exclusion Act in the Late Nineteenth Century." Phylon (1960-) 56, no. 1 (2019): 8-32. www.jstor.org/stable/ 26743829. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Rollins Scholarship Online. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of Rollins Scholarship Online. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 8 Phylon 56 Standing Up Against Racial Discrimination: Progressive Americans and the Chinese Exclusion Act in the Late Nineteenth Century Wenxian Zhang Rollins College Abstract The passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act is a dark chapter in the immigration history of the United States. In contrast to the overwhelming “Yellow Peril” literature of the time, the outcries of mistreated Chinese were few and far between, as they had little recourse against their accusers. This article attempts to identify the rare voices of Chinese Americans and recognizes the bold vision and noble endeavors of some progressive Americans during the Exclusion Era of the late nineteenth century. Throughout the national debates on the Chinese Exclusion Act, a minority of Americans stood up in support of Chinese immigrants, while sturdily condemning injustice against them. They argued that such a discriminatory measure was a direct violation of America’s moral principles of freedom, liberty, and equity for all. Although their calls for justice were engulfed by the anti-Chinese hysteria of the time, they stood on the right side of history, and their brave acts inspired those marginalized people in their continuing march for civil rights advancement in the United States. Introduction states. They soon became a major work- force during the construction of the first The discovery of gold in California transcontinental railroad and made sig- in the mid-nineteenth century marked nificant contributions to the expansion the beginning of large-scale Chinese of agriculture in the American West immigration to the United States. Since (Zhang 2018). However, the economic the 1850s, unwilling to accept a life of recession that started in the early 1870s poverty and despair, tens of thousands led to rising anti-Chinese sentiment, of Chinese laborers embarked on the and Chinese immigrants were blamed transpacific voyage and began to work as scapegoats of the economic crisis and in gold and silver mines in the western a source of social evils and moral decline Wenxian Zhang 9 in America. Politicians such as James A. debate on the Chinese Exclusion Act? Johnson began to make racist claims By examining the lives of some no- “that the white man is superior to the table figures, this essay documents the Chinaman; that our country would be brave deeds of those Americans in voic- better off peopled entirely with our own ing their true convictions and defend- kind than if mixed with an inferior and ing Chinese immigrants during a dark degraded race” (Torok 1996, 89). Finally chapter of national history. By taking a in 1882, after California implemented a strong stand against ethnic persecution series of discriminatory legislation and at a time when racial discrimination following more than a decade of anti- was widely accepted, they demonstrat- Chinese outcries and lobbying from the ed considerable political courage and western states, Congress unilaterally unbending commitment to American passed the Chinese Exclusion Act (Stat- ideals. utes at Large 1882), prohibiting all im- migration of Chinese laborers. Building Voices of Chinese Americans: on the Page Act (Statutes at Large 1875), Wong Ching Foo and Yan Phou Lee which banned Chinese women from entering the United States, the Chinese During the late nineteenth century, Exclusion Act was the first law imple- most Chinese in America came from mented to prevent a specific ethnic or southern China. With little education, national group from immigrating, and majority of them were manual laborers in one of the most significant restrictions mines and construction sites or living in on free immigration in American his- Chinatowns as factory workers or shop- tory. The Act not only outlawed all Chi- keepers. Wong Ching Foo and Yan Phou nese immigration, but also denied citi- Lee are two exceptions. Both were born in zenship to those already settled in the China but educated in the United States. country. Its impact upon the Chinese in After becoming naturalized citizens, America was profound and devastating they passionately advocated the cause (Chan 1991). of Chinese Americans. By speaking “American objections to Chinese im- out on behalf of their people against migration were deeply rooted in eco- disreputable legislation, they provided nomic and social tensions, as well as the rare voices for those persecuted and prevailing ethnic prejudice in the late proved that ethnic Chinese had become nineteenth century. Nevertheless, de- members of a multicultural American spite the dominant beliefs in American society (Seligman 2013a; Cheung, 2003). society and the fact that the Act passed Wong Ching Foo (1847-1898) was a with overwhelming support from Con- Chinese-American civil rights advocate gress, at that time the notorious legis- and one of the most outspoken Chinese lation had been vehemently opposed voices in the nineteenth century. Born by some progressive Americans. Who in Jimo, Shandong, Wong came to the were those people? How did they get United States in 1867 with the assistance involved with Chinese immigrants, and of American missionary Sallie Little what did they do during the national Holmes and attended the University at 10 Phylon 56 Lewisburg (now Bucknell University) be naturalized, Wong dedicated his in 1869-70. After a short stay in China, life to fighting for the equal rights of where he was excommunicated from Chinese Americans. He once famously the Baptist Church and became a challenged San Francisco’s anti-Chinese wanted man for inciting rebellion agitator and Irish immigrant Denis against the corrupt Qing Court, he Kearney to a duel, giving Kearney his returned to America in 1873 and became choice of weapon: chopsticks, Irish a citizen a year later (Seligman 2013b). potatoes, or Krupp guns (Seligman Disillusioned by Western religion, he 2013a, 161). Wong also established wrote his most notable essay “Why Am America’s first association of Chinese I a Heathen?” to explain his rejection voters and later the Chinese Equal of Christianity in favor of traditional Rights League. As its president, on Chinese beliefs (Wong 1887). Declaring January 26, 1893, Wong testified in front himself China’s first Confucian of a congressional committee to oppose missionary to the United States, he the renewal of the Chinese Exclusion launched a cross-country lecture tour to Act (Seligman 2013b). When the Geary promote Chinese culture and denounce Act passed, the League mobilized tens discrimination against the Chinese in of thousands of Chinese immigrants to America. When he gave a speech in New defy the discriminatory legislation, one York, Harper’s Weekly (1877, 405) praised: of the first massive civil disobedience cases in U.S. history (Pomfret 2016). Mr. Wong Ching Foo disclaims the Wong was also the first person to character of missionary, and says introduce the notion of Chinese he has come only for the purpose American (Zhang 2018). However, his of explaining away certain misap- same-titled newspaper in Chinese prehensions concerning his country language only lasted less than a year and people which prevail among for lack of funding. On the occasion of Americans. He is an intelligent, cul- its publication, Frank Leslie’s Illustrated tured gentleman, speaking English Newspaper (1883, 435) reported: with ease and vivacity, and he has The cosmopolitan character which the power of interesting his audi- New York has taken on of late ence. years is freshly shown by the es- tablishment of a Chinese weekly A civil rights pioneer, Wong proudly newspaper. This new journalistic defended Chinese Americans as law- venture is edited by Wong Chin abiding and good-mannered people, Foo, an educated man of rank, who and courageously declared that only graduated at one of our colleges, “character and fitness should be the and is very popular with his coun- requirement of all who are desirous trymen.… Such an enterprise will of becoming citizens of the American surprise many people who have Republic” (Pomfret 2016, 82). As one always been accustomed to regard of the first Chinese immigrants to the Chinese as illiterate barbarians, Wenxian Zhang 11 and it certainly shows a degree of “place of distinction” as a “foundation advancement which is exceedingly father” of Asian American literature. creditable to them. Besides his autobiography, Lee also wrote essays about the ways in which During the exclusion debate in late Chinese immigrants were mistreated nineteenth century America, another in the United States. As one of the distinguished Chinese voice belonged few American-educated Chinese of to Yan Phou Lee (1861-1938). Born in the time, Lee spent most of his life Xiangshan, Guangdong, Lee came to advocating for equality for the Chinese America in 1873 as a part of the Chinese American community. In his graduation Educational Mission led by Yung Wing. speech, he claimed that “the Chinese However, before Lee could complete his will always preserve the sad record of study, his fellowship was cancelled by persecutions and cruelty which they the Qing Court and all students were had met in the land where all are equal recalled, a few months before the Chinese before the law.