Righting Wrongs: Congress “Expresses Regret” in 2011 and 2012 for the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

Middle School, 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade, High School, 9th Grade, 10th Grade, 11th Grade, 12th Grade

TOPIC:

American immigration history and Asian American history

OBJECTIVES:

Students will explore the idea that throughout our history we have promoted and implemented legislation that runs directly counter to principles in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
Students will see that the Chinese Exclusion Acts represented, collectively, rights denied to Chinese and other Asians over 60 years, and not just an immigration issue.
Students will assess how Congress reviewed its own legislative history, acknowledged its past mistakes and the consequences of those acts.

INTRODUCTION

The 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act is one of the most unfortunate pieces of legislation that the U.S. Congress has ever enacted. It is the only time in American history that a specific nationality was singled out to be excluded from entering the United States and also denied Chinese the right to become citizens. Its passage marked a period where Chinese and, over time, all Asians would become barred from entry into the country. It was not repealed until 1943 during World War II. This series of lessons is intended to outline the history of how those Acts came to be, what the major consequences of them were, and how, only recently, the U.S. Congress has come to recognize how wrong they were.

While this topic is designed as a unit, teachers should feel comfortable in breaking the unit down into individual lessons that can focus more in depth on one or two primary sources and their meaning.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

How well does the U.S. live up to its ideals as identified in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution?
In what ways can citizens influence policy, political decisions, and institutions and generate new perspectives on past history?

KIT INCLUDES

Primary Resources

Cartoon: James Wade: “You Can Go, Or Stay.” Puck Magazine (cover), 1886
Congressional Resolutions of Regret
- House Resolution 683, which was authored by Congresswoman Judy Chu, the first Chinese American woman elected to Congress
- Senate Resolution 201
- Here are accompanying worksheets on both resolutions that you can use for the lesson.
Cartoon by Thomas Nast of “Columbia” protecting a Chinese man from mob, “Hands Off, Gentlemen! America means fair play for all men.” Harper’s Weekly, Feb. 18, 1871. (Many other possible cartoons may be used)
Harper’s Weekly Editorial about Yew Fun Tan, student at Yale
Sen. George Hoar quote from 1902 debate over extending the Act yet again (Congressional Record from 1902, page 4252 – Page 28 in this PDF)
American Federation of Labor booklet cover and page excerpt, author Samuel Gompers, entitled “Meat Vs. Rice,” expressing AFL’s support of Chinese/Asian Exclusion, originally published 1902, reprinted and updated in 1908.
Slide presentation of impact of Chinese Exclusion Acts

Other Resources

“A Clear and Present Danger: The Chinese Exclusion Act“
“Eye on the East: Labor Calls for Ban on Chinese Immigration“
U.S. History Scene: Immigration in Perspective: The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
The Man Jimmy, History of the Chinese Exclusion Act
Chinese Exclusion Acts
No Place Project, “No Place for Your Kind”
Harper’s Weekly. Immigrant and Ethnic America, The Chinese American: 1857-1892
Chinese in California 1850-1925, The Bancroft Library (Special Collections Library of the Univ. of California)
Museum of Chinese in America (New York)
PBS: The Chinese Experience, Eyewitness
New York Historical Society: Chinese American: Inclusion/Exclusion Exhibition