1. Why did Chinese immigrants come to the United States?
Asian Immigration
Why did Chinese immigrants come to the United States?

2. I. Mid-1800s Chinese population Reached about 430 million Suffering
Unemployment
Poverty
Famine
Taiping Rebellion
Erupted in 1850
Insurrection caused so much more suffering
1860s construction on the Central Pacific Railroad began
Railroad work caused a demand for further Chinese immigration

3. II. Settling of Asian Immigrants
Chinese
Settled mainly in western cities
Employment
Laborers
Servants
Skilled trades
Merchants
Japanese
Immigration soars between 1900 and 1910
Causes
Industrialization
Economic problems

4. III. Angel Island Prior to 1910
Asian immigrants entered through California through San Francisco
Mukuk (wooden house)
A 2-story shed located at the wharf
Held as many as 500 people at a time
January 1910
California opened a barracks for Asian immigrants
Most were young men in their teens or twenties
They could wait for months
Several immigrants recorded their journey anonymously on the walls

5. 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

6. IV. Restrictions on Asian Immigration
Anti-Chinese sentiment
Lead to racial violence
Denis Kearney, an Irish immigrant
Organized the Workingman’s Party of California to fight Chinese immigration
Party won seats in the California legislature and pushed to cut off Chinese immigration

7. Chinese Exclusion Act
1882, Congress passed this into law
Barred Chinese immigration for 10 years
Prevented the Chinese already in the country from becoming citizens
Chinese reaction
Letter writing campaigns to President
File suit in federal court
All efforts fail to repeal the law
Congressional action
Renewed in 1892
Permanent in 1902
Repealed in 1943

8. Response to Japanese immigration
San Francisco Board of Education
Ordered “all Chinese and Korean” children to attend the racially segregated “Oriental School” in the city’s Chinatown neighborhood.
The directive caused an international incident
Japan saw this as an insult to the treatment of its people.
Theodore Roosevelt
“Gentleman’s Agreement”
He would limit Japanese immigration
School board had to rescind its segregation order
T.R. negotiated a decrease in Japanese immigration with Japan
Board revoked its segregation order
Leaders of both countries had to uphold the agreement

9. Review Questions Why did Chinese immigrants come to the United States?
Why did Japanese immigrants come to the United States?
Why did the federal government pass the Chinese Exclusion Act?
What government actions limited Asian immigration?
Explain the significance of Angel Island.
Explain the significance of the Chinese Exclusion Act.
Explain the significance of the “Gentleman’s Agreement.”
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