political movements and ideologies have changed Chinese-Americans’ living in the United States

political movements and ideologies have changed Chinese-Americans’ living in the United States

The Chinese-Americans population has grown significantly in the United States. This group emerged as immigrants arriving mainly in the mid-1800s and late from the late 1970s to date. The first wave of Chinese immigrants to the U.S. comprised manual laborers that arrived on the West Coast to take up mining, railway construction, agriculture, and other low-skilled jobs in the mid-nineteenth century. This immigration wave triggered a political response that led to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 to bar Chinese from obtaining U.S. citizenship. Since then, policy changes, including the 1917 Immigration Act and the repealing of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1943, have defined the fate of Chinese-Americans living in America. As a result, more Chinese have migrated to the United States, with post-1965 immigrants mainly consisting of skilled workers. China now is a leading source of international students enrolled in higher education in the United States, and its nationals have adequate representation in EB-5 investor visa programs. Therefore, it is undeniable that political movements and ideologies have changed Chinese-Americans’ living in the United States.

Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 is one of the major political decisions that led to the emergence of social classing among the Chinese-Americans. The legislation violated the treaties between the United States and the government of China (The Chinese Exclusion case.; Chae Chan Ping v. the United States 12). This Act, according to Marcus and Chen, was the first legislation in the United States that restricted immigration based on race (369). However, the skewed execution of this legislation led to the emergence of social class among the Chinese-Americans. It demonstrated a class bias since it exempted certain elite groups. Similar discriminations also manifested under the 1917 Immigration Act. Narrations of various elites reveal class dimensions, particularly in social and cultural terms, among the Chinese-Americans during the Exclusion Era between 1882 and 1943 (Marcus and Chen 370). In their research, Marcus and Chen, allude that examining the experiences of the elites and labors sheds light on the complexity of class among Chinese-Americans (370). Oral narrative by Eloise Fong also offers similar insights, evident in the interview, Rosie the Riveter, World War II Home Front Oral History Project. Therefore, social class aspects characterizing the lives of Chinese-Americans were a construction of the Exclusion and Immigration Act that perpetuated discriminative policies.

Secondly, politics provided a ground for virulent racism that widened the rift between the Chinese-American laborers and whites. Historical records in California indicate that Chinese elites enjoyed better opportunities than laborers due to segregation and discrimination (Marcus and Chen 371). The elites could cross the geographic, racial, and gender boundaries even at times when the relations between the Asians and European-Americans suffered segregation and racial discrimination. Conversely, laborers faced social and physical isolation that diminished their interaction with the whites. For example, the experience of Lee Puey You, during her detention in Angel Island in 1839, reveals the suffering Chinese faced in America (Yung 124). As a result, Chinese-Americans experienced acculturation that led to the emergence of the urban Chinese population, whose cultural ties differed from their counterparts in other areas.

Congressional and judicial decisions defined the pattern of settlement and lifestyle of the Chinese-Americans. With the Exclusion Act, some Chinese-Americans were deemed ineligible for naturalization and were politically marginalized. As such, these groups established their roots in Chinatowns, segregated areas. They fought against racism through litigation and participated actively in economic development projects and political movements to modernize China. These groups did not desire assimilation into American culture. For example, the discriminating attitude of the police towards them shaped their experiences and the way they lived in the Chinatowns. The police either declined to protect the Chinese-Americans or pressured them to bribe them to get their protection. The harsh experience instilled attributes of tolerance for hardship and maintained the Chinese lifestyle. They observed Chinese customs and festivals. Additionally, the Chinese joined social groups and family associations to sustain the collective interest of their origin.

The advent of the Chinese-American periodical press in 1935 also contributed significantly to shaping the identity of this population. American-born Chinese spoke English more than the Chinese language (Chan 133). As such, they hardly read Chinese-language publications that existed before the establishment of Chinese-American periodical press. As the number of American-born Chinese grew, it became imperative to introduce English-language publications accustomed to this group. Thomas Chin and Chingwah Lee founded the Chinese-American periodical press in San Francisco in 1935 to avail publications targeting American-born Chinese to bridge the cultural gap. The pioneers of this press sought to link the emerging American-born Chinese to the culture of their immigrant parents and Chinatown, while simultaneously mainstreaming them to the American culture (Wong 2613). Notably, Chinese-American publications gained widespread readership and elicited a strong conviction within American-born Chinese to assert their identification with American society. Between the late 1930s and early 1940s, Chinese living articulated their conviction to embrace America as their home but at the same time valued their Chinese cultural ties. Therefore, the emancipation of the Chinese-American press enhanced the identity of the Chinese-Americans in the United States.

Creating a distinctive identity between Chinese and Japanese through the media influenced the attitudes and beliefs of the Chinese-Americans in the United States. Publications featured in the Home Affairs section of the Time magazine of 1941 provide physical descriptions for distinguishing a Chinese from a Japanese. Life magazine exacerbated this identity by providing readers a large portrait of a good-looking Chinese government official and a menacing portrait of a (Wong 2617). The author alludes that the pictures depicted Chinese as friendly while Japanese featured as ruthless and militaristic. These sympathetic portrayals of the Chinese made Chinese Americans support America during the war. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Chinese consulates in San Francisco liaised with Chinese-American community organizations to issue identification cards to Chinese immigrants and Chinese Americans to validate their ethnicity. Notwithstanding the issuance of buttons distinguishing Chinese from Japanese, Chinese-Americans suffered mistaken identity. Editors of Chinese News, a publication that replaced the Chinese Digest in 1940, urged every Chinese to defend America against Japan. As a result, Chinese-Americans demonstrated patience and embraced America as their home.

The incarceration of Japanese-Americans in 1942 created job opportunities for Chinese-Americans and enhanced their patriotism to America. The severe labor shortage that broke in the farms on the West Coast, particularly in California, following America’s decision to put Japanese-Americans in concentration camps paved the way for Chinese-Americans to secure jobs in the farms. The United States Employment Service called on a thousand Chinese-Americans to fill the ranks in the farms in 1942. The Chinese Press rallied Chinese-Americans, arguing that providing food is equally important as machine-guns in helping America to win the war. Consequently, some Chinese-Americans perceived the internment of Japanese-Americans as an opportunity for developing business while heeding to the patriotic call. Besides, Chinese-Americans made considerable economic gains from the opportunities that arose in the motion picture industry. Scott argues that the war created demand for motion pictures that could portray the conflict (2672). Actors from the Chinese-Americans populace capitalized on this opportunity to validate their loyalty to America by producing films that depicted the enemy negatively. They demonstrated their antipathy towards the Japanese while enjoying the economic gains. In this regard, it is arguable that the incarceration of the Japanese-Americans accorded Chinese-Americans economic and patriotic advantage in the United States.

The deliberate cordial relationship between the United States and China has also contributed to shaping the experiences and lives of Chinese-Americans. President Roosevelt welcomed Madame Chiang Kai-Shek to the United States in 1943, making a significant contribution to changing the perception of the American public towards the Chinese and Chinese-Americans. Roosevelt and the leader of wartime Nationalist China leveraged their political affiliations to establish connections that changed America’s view of the Chinese. Chiang’s visit, for example, strengthened the bond between China and the United States. She appealed to the two Congress Houses by her eloquence. Her speech underscored China’s struggle against the Japanese and the close association between the United States and China (Wong 2729). Chiang portended the image of a modern Americanized Chinese. Madame Chiang’s tour of America raised the hopes of the Chinese-Americans as she made them proud of the cultural roots and made China familiar to the Americans. Against this backdrop, it is reasonable to say that the friendly political relationship between China and the United States elated Chinese-Americans’ confidence in their cultural roots.

The repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act incontestably paved the way for a refined future of the Chinese-Americans. The push for repeal of the Exclusion Act began when Richard Walsh, a renowned editor, published an article that declared Chinese as equal humans who deserve racial equality (Wong 2744). Walsh’s article gained considerable attention, and the call for repeal intensified. As a result, a group of influential White-Americans with ties to China formed the Citizens Committee to Repeal Chinese Exclusion. This Committee mapped out strategies, which they presented to Madame Chiang during her American tour, calling for the naturalization of the Chinese. After several amendments to the bill on repeal exclusion, Warren Magnuson’s version (D-WA) HR 3070 gained the most extensive support. It established an annual quota that allowed Chinese immigrants to apply for citizenship per the 1924 Immigration Act. Upon passing this bill, President Roosevelt ascended it into law in December 1943, creating a new beginning for the Chinese-Americans. This law paved the way for the War Bridges Act of 1945 and the Alien Wives Act of 1946, both of which led to the entry of thousands of Chinese women as non-quota immigrants into America (Yung, Chang and Lai 124). This aspect resulted in a baby boom in and perceptible infusion of family life in urban Chinatowns. Therefore, the repealing of the Exclusion Act influenced the family lives of the American-Chinese.

The emergence of the Civil Rights movement in the late 1960s contributed to fighting for human rights and equality. The Asian-American movement evolved to combat oppression and race-based violence that Asian communities faced in the United States. These movements arose spontaneously in nearly all parts of America, with diverse perspectives. It elicited activism among college students and workers in different parts of America. In San Francisco Bay, for instance, activism erupted among college students who protested universities’ failure to include Asian-American experiences in their curricula. Moreover, activists agitated for the improved conditions of the Chinatowns. There were nationwide protests against the minority model framework that White Americans used to perceive and discriminate against Asian communities living in the United States.

Other than protests and strikes, Chinese-Americans also used extensive court systems and diplomatic channels to fights for their rights. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 ushered in a new period that redefined the lives of Chinese-Americans. These legislations liberated Chinese-Americans from the structure of racial oppression. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 restored most of the fundamental rights that Chinese-Americans missed during the periods of oppression. The new laws increased the number of Chinese migrating to the United States to reunite with their families. As a result, young Chinese-Americans mobilized to agitate for a fight for racial equality and social justice.

Conclusion

Political movements and ideologies shaped the experiences and lifestyles of the Chinese-American population in the United States. Before the enactment of the Chinese Exclusion Act, a large group of Chinese immigrants moved to the United States as manual laborers in mining, agricultural, and railway construction. Later, a group of Chinese moved to America as elites and created a different class of Chinese-Americans. These two groups differed in lifestyle due to political influence that imposed policies such as segregation, racial discrimination, and other forms of injustices. First, politics contributed to the construction of social class among the Chinese-American populace. Secondly, political movements activated the Chinese-American periodical press that shaped the identity of American-born Chinese, as they embraced the Western lifestyle. Thirdly, American political differences with the Japanese allowed the Chinese-Americans to reap economic benefits while demonstrating patriotism to America in wartime. Besides, cordial political linkages between America and China enabled China’s first lady, Madame Chiang, to give Chinese-Americans a sense of identity to their culture. Her tour to the United States changed the American public’s perception of the Chinese. As a result, the Citizens Committee to Repeal Chinese Exclusion developed strategies to help Chinese-Americans reconnect with their families in China. Also, the Civil Rights Act provided Chinese-Americans channels for fighting for their rights and demanding equality in the United States. Therefore, it is reasonable to say that political ideologies and movements shaped the lives and experiences of Chinese-Americans and influenced their lifestyles and living standards.