Title The Chinese must go : violence, exclusion, and the making of the alien in America / Beth Lew-Williams

Published Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard University Press, 2018

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Description 1 online resource (349 pages) : illustrations, maps Contents Introduction: The violence of exclusion -- Part I. Restriction. The Chinese question ; Experiments in restriction -- Part II. Violence. The banished ; The people ; The loyal -- Part III. Exclusion. The exclusion consensus ; Afterlives under exclusion -- Epilogue: The modern American alien -- Appendix A. Sites of anti-Chinese expulsions and attempted expulsions, 1885-1887 -- Appendix B. Chinese immigration to the United States, 1850-1904 Summary In 1882, the United States launched an unprecedented experiment in federal border control--which promptly failed. The Chinese Must Go examines this formative moment when America's lackluster attempt to bar Chinese workers provoked a wave of anti-Chinese violence across the U.S. West. In 1885 and 1886, white vigilantes in over 150 communities used intimidation, harassment, bombs, arson, assault, and murder to drive out their Chinese neighbors. This little-known outbreak of racial violence had profound consequences. Displacing tens of thousands of Chinese immigrants, the expulsions reshaped America's racial geography. In response, the federal government not only overhauled U.S. immigration law, but also transformed its diplomatic relations with China. The Chinese Must Go recasts the history of Chinese exclusion and its importance for modern America. During a period better known for the invention of the modern citizen, the Chinese in America defined what it meant to be an alien. The significance of the "heathen Chinaman" on American law and society far outlived him.-- Provided by publisher "The American West erupted in anti-Chinese violence in 1885. Following the massacre of Chinese miners in Wyoming Territory, communities throughout California and the Pacific Northwest harassed, assaulted, and expelled thousands of Chinese immigrants. Beth Lew-Williams shows how American immigration policies incited this violence and how the violence, in turn, provoked new exclusionary policies. Ultimately, Lew-Williams argues, Chinese expulsion and exclusion produced the concept of the 'alien' in modern America. The Chinese Must Go begins in the 1850s, before federal border control established strict divisions between citizens and aliens. Across decades of felling trees and laying tracks in the American West, Chinese workers faced escalating racial conflict and unrest. In response, Congress passed the Chinese Restriction Act of 1882 and made its first attempt to bar immigrants based on race and class. When this unprecedented experiment in federal border control failed to slow Chinese migration, vigilantes attempted to take the matter into their own hands. Fearing the spread of mob violence, U.S. policymakers redoubled their efforts to keep the Chinese out, overhauling U.S. immigration law and transforming diplomatic relations with China. By locating the origins of the modern American alien in this violent era, Lew-Williams recasts the significance of Chinese exclusion in U.S. history. As The Chinese Must Go makes clear, anti-Chinese law and violence continues to have consequences for today's immigrants. The present resurgence of xenophobia builds mightily upon past fears of the 'heathen Chinaman.'"--Provided by publisher Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 259-335) and index Notes Online resource; title from digital title page (ProQuest Ebook Central, viewed July 25, 2018) Subject Chinese -- United States -- History -- 19th century Chinese -- Violence against -- United States Border security -- United States -- History -- 19th century Race discrimination -- United States -- History -- 19th century Emigration and immigration law -- United States -- History -- 19th century Noncitizens -- United States -- History -- 19th century SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Discrimination & Race Relations. SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Minority Studies. HISTORY / United States / 19th Century Noncitizens Border security Chinese Emigration and immigration law Race discrimination Race relations Noncitizens -- United States -- History -- 19th century. Noncitizens. SUBJECT United States -- Race relations -- History -- 19th century Subject United States Genre/Form Electronic books History Form Electronic book ISBN 9780674919907 0674919904

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