Asia Swarming the American Hive #2

The following blog post is an updated version of my previous post. After further researching Asian Immigration on the Angel Island website, I learned more about the hardships that the immigrants faced while they attempted to move to America. On another website, I learned more about the hardships of Asian Immigrants in America outside of the farm. They weren't just discriminated against at work, everywhere they went, they were attacked or harassed by white Americans. The Angel Island website was very helpful when it came to learning more about the immigration process. It also helped me to understand why there was so little information about Asian immigration from countries outside of China. There is much historians don't know about those immigrants, and they're still looking for information. I have adjusted and added more information to my post.
*any blue text is information that was not in the original blog post*

Key Terms

• The Office of the Superintendent of Immigration-formed in 1891 to decide who was or was not fit to settle in America
• Restrictive Covenants-agreements among homeowners not to sell real estate to certain groups of people (African Americans, Mexicans, Asian Americans, Jews)
• Chinese Exclusion Act-1882 congress prohibited Chinese laborers from entering country unless they had previously established residence, not repealed until 1943
• Pictures Brides- when told no one could immigrate unless they had family in America, Japanese would arrange daughters' marriages to Japanese men already in US
• Blood Unions-groups Japanese workers organized themselves into based on their ethnic membership, went on strike and protested for equal treatment and wages between races
• Contracting Land- allowed Asians, especially Japanese to rent land, pay off owner with their profits and hopefully earn enough to buy the land for themselves
• Webb Alien Land Law-banned non-citizen Asians from owning farmland
• Angel Island- On the west coast, wooden buildings that met immigrants from Australia and New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, Russia, and in particular, Asia.
• Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS)- currently, Bureau of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), in control of enforcing the Chinese Exclusion Act, invoked fear and loathing in the community

2-3 Enduring Statements

1. When people who are of a different race, ethnicity or economic situation move to an area populated by more powerful people who do not understand them, they are thrown to the bottom of the social hierarchy.

• Some areas demanded that Japanese and Korean children attend a different schools (America: Pathways to the Present pg. 532)
• Asian immigrants came from west coast ports, they differed greatly from Americans and white immigrants so they were made targets of suspicion and hostility (America: Pathways to the Present, pg 531)
• Because they were not white, Asians were denied the right to be made a citizen of the United States (A Different Mirror)
• On mainland in particular Japanese were refused services like haircuts and people refused to employ them, becoming a farmer who owned their own land in America became the dream, but had to contract land by agreeing to plant certain crops then give a certain amount of profit to land's actual owner once crop was sold, after renting and earning money/paying off the true owner, they hoped to own the land (A Different Mirror pg 252)
• Even second generation, who were born in America were discriminated against, people threw rocks at them called them names and despite their access to education and completion of schooling, only 25% between 1925 and 1935 actually had jobs for which they had schooled and trained for (A Different Mirror pg. 259)
• 1904 the Hawaiian Sugar Planters' Association restricted skilled positions to American citizens, Asians were not white and therefore could not be legalized citizens, they were stuck with labor intensive jobs, no one could earn much money unless they were white and they weren't respected, called by number instead of a name (A Different Mirror, pg. 239-240)
• 1913 non-citizen Asia s were banned from owning land (America: Pathways to the Present, pg 532)

2. Even after those with little power take extreme actions to get their voices heard, their requests are rarely fulfilled by those who truly hold the power in the community.

• Asian immigrants  accepted low wages, the more came, the lower wages dropped and companies hired them over Americans(America: Pathways to the Present, pg 531)
• When Japanese workers asked for their wages to be raised, their employees sent for more Korean workers meant to drive the Japanese out. When Korea heard of their people being mistreated, they cut off emigration to the US, so US started hiring from the Philippines (A Different Mirror, pg. 238)
• Japanese had to protest or go on strike because of unfair wages, harsh working conditions (A Different Mirror, pg. 242)
• Strike of 1909 by Japanese workers in Hawaii, in 1919 Japanese Federation of Labor and the Filipino Federation of Labor submitted demands to Hawaiian Sugar Planters' Association, wanted higher wages, shorter days, insurance for retirees and paid maternity leave, both Federations decided to work together and both races went on strike (A Different Mirror pg 244)
• Rather than listening to this united front, the planters' association bribed the leader of the Filipino Federation into ending his temporary alliance with the Japanese Federation. This way they didn't have to listen to either federation and raise wages. Workers would just return to their jobs (A Different Mirror pg. 245)

3. A new place can attract people to it for many reasons, but often, people who travel there don't know the big picture and the journey there can be even more grueling than the previous conditions under which the people were living, thanks to the people in power who enforce the laws.

• The job of enforcing the Chinese Exclusion Act was placed on the INS, it invoked fear and loathing in the community and had a lasting impact on the future generations (AIISF, Life on Angel Island)
• Part of the Exclusion Act included a full medical exam. It was humiliating for most Asians and consequences were severe if they failed the exam. They would be hospitalized at their own expense (they'd have to pay for it and none of them had any money) or deported. (AIISF, Life on Angel Island)
• Chinese Exclusion act allowed only merchants, clergy, diplomats, teachers and students to come to America. Many Chinese immigrants had to buy fake identities in order to immigrate as children of exempt classes or children of native. This cost them a great deal seeing as they already had no money to spare. (AIISF, Life on Angel Island)
• In order to prevent those with fake identities from entering the States, immigrants were interrogated for several hours, even days. They were asked about minute details of their lives that only people who were true to their identities would know the answer to. Their relatives living in the states were called upon to help figure out if their answers were true. It was important to memorize these details for life because of identity card checks on streets or if a family wanted to return to China then back to the States. (AIISF, Life on Angel Island: Interrogations)
• Immigrants were locked down for 24 hours a  day while waiting to be interrogated. Public health officials had stated that the  barracks were a firetrap. The food was barely edible, recreation or time allowed outside was limited. The conditions were so awful that some demanded to be returned to China on the next boat out. There were rumors of those scheduled for deportation committing suicide. (AIISF, Poetry on Barrack Walls)
• Immigrants carved poetry into the barrack walls as a testimony to their suffering. They wrote of their aspirations, their anger and sadness at the injustice of their initial reception by America. (AIISF, Poetry on Barrack Walls)

The hardships of Asian Immigrants began the second they bought their ticket to America. Little to no immigrants had the money to buy their ticket. They assumed that they would be able to pay off their debt once they got to America. They had been told that they could become rich working in America. But, before they could start paying off their debt, they had to get to America. The most affordable tickets were in the steerage, where restroom facilities were limited, food  was nearly inedible and rats infested every corner. It was easy to get sick in such close, unsanitary quarters. After surviving a grueling journey, immigrants got off the ship on Angles Island. Rather than feeling relief, they would have felt nervous. Angel Island was often seen as the hardest part of immigrating. In order to pass into America, Asians had to go through a series of exams and interrogations. Should they fail any aspect of these exams, they were hospitalized at their own expense, or immediately deported. Due to the Chinese Exclusion Act, no man or woman from China was allowed to come to America unless they were merchants, clergymen, diplomats, teachers students or had previously established residence in America. In order to enforce this law, the INS made every immigrant undergo an interrogation that tested the truthfulness of their story and identity. While waiting to be interrogated, they were locked in barracks on the island. They were lonely, starving and miserable in these barracks. Some wrote poetry on the walls, for example, "Don't say that everything within is Western styled./ Even if it is built of jade, it has turned into a cage." Everything in America seemed so good to the people trying to get there, but it they were not as free or as happy as they had hoped to be. Once they got to America, they had to find a job. However, few places were willing to hire or serve Asians. As shown in the image to the right, they were discriminated against because they were different and their traditions were seen as "heathenish." Once they found a job, they weren't treated fairly. They were paid less than whites, and sometimes, their employers conveniently "forgot" to pay them. It took large strikes and hard work for Asian workers in America to have their voices heard. America was no where near as glamorous and easy-going as it seemed to those who immigrated there.