The Question of Chinese Immigration - Essay Example

?IMMIGRATION The question of the Chinese immigration. Nast, a prominent cartoon collector represented the situation about the Chinese immigration and how it is represented. The Chinese were discriminated and prejudiced against in the late nineteenth century. The suppression of the Chinese came with several factors that predisposed it. Slave trade was suppressed in the mid nineteenth century where the planters from Latin America sourced for labor supply from china. This was common in the Caribbean region in America. The Americans acquired its labor supply from; kidnap, misleading information and promises, some were a result of clan clashes and were sold by the labor brokers. In addition, the laborers from china sold themselves to offset the balances that they initially had from gamble. From the newspaper, the Chinese laborers called ‘coolie’ were shipped to America on vessels. The congress which the US president addressed majored on this aspect. This was passed from grant all the way up to pierce and the message was at an annual congress. The coolie trade was later prohibited and the American shippers were warned about the illicit enterprise they were engaged. The US government prohibited coolie trade and allowed only voluntary immigrants from china. The term ‘coolie’ was later used to refer to all Chinese immigrant laborers. The early Chinese were not coolies despite that they lacked their rights. These Chinese immigrants were voluntary immigrants and made their own passage (Ellis 2010). Some Chinese are alleged to have borrowed under the ticket system which had high interests. Thus the ‘coolie’ stereotype became permanent among the Americans and the immigrants tried to counter this stereotype. In 1868, the Burlingame treaty proposed free and fair immigration between America and china. This led to a low population in china along the western coast of the US. By the year 1870, less than 64,000 Chinese lived in the whole of US. At the time this cartoon came out, the Chinese population was minuscule and there is no Chinatown that existed. Later on, the Chinese faced prejudice, economic competition and racial discrimination. This made the Chinese to react violently as it raised intense emotions. In the cartoon page reference, it focused in details the bill which had been passed in the government. This focused on Senator William Tweed who headed the Tammany hall. He was a notorious boss who was focused as dealing with illicit businesses such as employing coolie laborers and heathen Chinese. This could lead to a fine of $1000 and $5000 or serve a six months imprisonment. In the harpers’ weekly, an article that focused on Chinese invasion was dismissed. Furthermore, the article focused on myths that were based on the allegations that Americans adhered to the previous revolution in US. In the law the all men are believed to have equal and free before the US law as they had inalienable rights. This is reflected in the cartoon as the Columbia who shields a Chinese man from a mob and she reminds us that in US, fairness is the best virtue. In the cartoon, the armed gang is a stereotype of Irish America. This can be evidenced by the man on the second right. The man on the far right may be a German American and a shoulder hitter who may be on the far left of the cartoon picture. This man is alleged to have enforced the urban politician who is compared to ‘Tweed’ (Ellis 2010). He may have applied acts of violence in US. The cartoon has applied the imagery which asserts to the US civil war which occurred in 1863. Large population of Chinese protested against the treat they received in US. The angry Irish mob protested against burning of orphan due to color and the lynching blacks in US. The pictures in this cartoon represented the alleged democrat and Irish Americans who are fighting for mob rule and violence. There is a plastered slur behind Columbia which features china immigrants. This is posed at the left side of the cartoon that has been labeled with stereotype titles. These include barbarian, pagan, and heathen, immoral, vile and anti-family. In nineneteeth century, several newspapers in US referred members who based their arguments on ethnicity or racism and thus replaced their individuality. They relied on epithet and later replaced the collective term. In the cartoon, one common name that china men were referred to is ‘John china man’, ‘ah sing’ and ‘yellow jack’ which is present in the excerpt. After the publication of this cartoon, there was more reaction from the antichina movement. The union became more violent, successful and vocal and thi9s led to measures to limit Chinese immigration. This occurred in 1870. The coolie trade and discrimination against race were condemned in 1876. The same draft focused on the effects of importation of Mongols on material interests and moral influence (Ellis 2010). Racism and prejudice From the 1866 journal, Chinese man was called ‘Gaelic’ man who had bulged jaws at the lower face, a large mouth with thick lips, chins that had retreated with a huge fore head. Furthermore, he had a big distance between mouth and the nose, prominent cheekbones, nose that was upturned, sunken eyes with projected eyebrows a narrow and elongated skull and protruding eyes. These further ridiculed Irish speakers as stupid and it went as far as ridiculing the Irish accent (Gudykunst 2000). This is evidenced from the cartoon which contrasts a monkey and an Irish man with similar characteristics as that of a man. Furthermore, the joke about the man who sits on a gun powder keg at Uncle Sam’s place is viewed as stupid. He is drunk and this threatens the whole country. The picture aims at depicting the difference between an Irish man and a real native. Irish immigration: American view In 1816, thousands of Irish men immigrated to US and this was during the famine period in US. The Irish men were the poor refugees who arrived in US and the Americans became overwhelmed to this situation. On arrival, life in US was quite tough and they were forced to stay in low states in society where they were to struggle for survival. English puritans stayed in Boston in 1620 and after their arrival two hundred years found a lot of changes both socially and economically. On arrival, the natives pointed and laughed to the immigrants who had torn and worn out clothes that were outdated (O’Connor 1997). On the other hand the Irish speakers were welcomed by their core men who had similar language and were welcomed and gladly accepted. They could access better housing, free storage of luggage, and supposedly were served with good meals. From the image, the setting of the images was during the immigration in US and the picture brings out the two sets when the Irish men first came to this country and when they were now welcomed by their fallow men. Earlier on, the Irish were never welcomed and walked from street to street with their luggage which is contrasted with the time when their luggage is kept and they walk freely. The two pictures target the Irish immigrants. From the notice board, the elite man is given a welcome note as opposed to the Irish man who seeks refugee in discos from the advert boards. Bibliography Ellis, Edward. The History of Our Country from the Discovery of America to the Present Time. Volume 5. Boston: General Books LLC, 2010. Gudykunst, William. Asian American Ethnicity and Communication. New York: Sage Publishers, 2000. O’Connor, Thomas. The Boston Irish: A Political History. New York: Back Bay Books, 1997. Read More