Chinese Immigration: Post Civil War

May-8th-2014
Final Paper

Post Civil War up to the beginning of WWI was one of the most significant time periods for immigration here in the United States. From 1865 through 1920 an unprecedented and diverse stream of immigrants arrived in the United States, 27.5 million in total, In all, 24.4 million came from Europe. Immigrants were pushed out of their homelands by poverty or religious threats, and pulled to America by jobs, farmland, and family connections. They found economic opportunity in factories, mines, and construction sites, and found farm opportunities in the Plains states. Debates over immigration dominate today’s newspaper headlines and political campaigns. These debates may be new in some of their
California adopted several laws that targeted Chinese immigrants. These state laws included such provisions as mandating special licenses for Chinese-owned enterprises and prohibiting the naturalization of Chinese. China 's government was concerned about anti-Chinese sentiment among Americans and California 's discriminatory laws. As a result, the United States and China agreed to two treaties during this period that partially addressed Chinese immigration to the United States. The federal government annulled many of California 's discriminatory laws with the Burlingame Treaty of 1868, an agreement with China that essentially permitted unrestricted immigration to the United States. However, as domestic opposition to Chinese immigration continued to grow in the United States, the American government persuaded China to accept some restrictions on Chinese immigrants to the United States in the Angell Treaty of 1880. Domestic pressure to restrict Chinese immigration did not abate, so the U.S. Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which became law on May 6, 1882. In addition to prohibiting the immigration of Chinese laborers, the new law made it more difficult for immigrants who had already come to the United States to reenter the country after they revisited China. As a result of the law, the number of Chinese in the United States dropped significantly. The number of
When the chief of police was found shot to death on the street one night, the mayor blamed “Sicilian gangsters” and rounded up more than 100 Sicilian Americans. Eventually, 19 were put on trial and, as the nation’s Italian Americans watched nervously, were found not guilty for lack of evidence. Before they could be freed, however, a mob of 10,000 people, including many of New Orleans’ most prominent citizens, broke into the jail. They dragged 11 Sicilians from their cells and lynched them, including two men jailed on other offenses. Italians worldwide were outraged, but the U.S. press generally approved of the action. It was the largest single mass lynching in U.S.