Asian Americans In The 19th Century

Though there were various types of Asian that came to America, many of Americans during the late 19th century and early 20th century perceived all Asians with a similar perspective; an outsider and a threat to the American supremacism. Asian Americans were often mistreated and disdain by the “whites” due to many racial and cultural differences, which caused the institution of “work” to distort the lives of Asian Americans’ economically and socially.
One of the major effect from the disdain were the differences in labor niches such as types of occupations, jobs, and industries occupied by Asian migrants. The labor niches often separate the lives of each ethnic groups, therefore also establishing many racial dynamics that impacted the lives of many Asian ethnic groups in the pre-exclusion years. Although many Asians migrants came to America looking for better opportunities, the hardship they endure due to racism often collides with their work structure as well. For examples, as the Chinese immigrants arrived in San Francisco in 1850 due to the first American Gold Rush, many of the whites gold miners resented the Chinese miners, feeling that they were an inferior to the competition in the mining field. As a result, the the legislation passed a Foreign Miner’s Tax which was a tax that targeted the Chinese miners levying twenty dollars per month. As a result, many tax collectors would legally take away the property of those miners who refused or could not pay the tax and used violence, such as stabbing, as a tactic to those who couldn’t pay the tax. Despite taking away proximately half their gain from mining, the Foreign Miner’s Tax discouraged the immigration for Asian American for economical motives or residing in the country. Throughout the years this caused many of the Chinese miners to leave the mining field looking for other jobs opportunities in the country. Even though majority of the jobs employed by Asian had unfair wages and long work hours, many of the Asians such as the Chinese still bear this hardship while still being treated as “cheap labor” in jobs such as railroad, agriculture, and factory works. Economically, this led to many employers to hire Asian migrants rather than white workers. Consequently it led to many white workers to be angered by this “yellow peril” that had taken away their jobs opportunities. This hostile idea was soon taken up by the United States Congress to limit the amount of Chinese immigrants to the country, known as the Chinese Exclusion Act. The Chinese Exclusion act was the first law in United States to prevent immigration and naturalization based on race. Since many …show more content…
Implicitly, the law was aimed at the Japanese despite that it affect the Chinese as well. Therefore, the Japanese government ended it’s “good neighborhood which have presided over the relations between the two countries,” (Gulick, 1917). Under the circumstances of Asians not being able to own land in America, it affected the economic stability for many Asian migrants. It prevented Asian workers from having control of their own gains in the agriculture workforce. Essentially it also discouraged Japanese immigration to pursue opportunities in America. Socially, the law also categorized Asians as “aliens” making it become a way to dehumanize and alienate the differences between a white and an