EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE FOUNDATION
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Discrimination and Violence Against Chinese Americans in the 19th Century 

Brief Background 
The first Chinese immigrants arrived in the U.S. in the 1850s. Since then, both federal and state governments have issued various discriminatory laws against what is now considered AAPI populations. During the 19th century, multiple states passed laws enforcing exclusion and inequity against Asian Americans. The California Crimes and Punishments Act of 1850 prevented Asians (defined as Chinese, Mongolian, and Indian) from testifying in court against whites, making them vulnerable to abuse and injustice. Four years later, in 1854, in People v. Hall, the California Supreme Court rejected the testimony of Chinese immigrants who witnessed George Hall, a white man, murdering a Chinese miner Ling Sing. In 1863, the California Supreme Court amended the California Crimes and Punishments Act of 1850 statute. After Nevada became the first state to pass a law in 1861 to prevent interracial marriage between Asians and whites, thirteen other states passed similar laws.   ​

At the federal level, in 1875, the Page Act restricted immigration of Asian women—in particular, Chinese women—to the U.S., under the racist assumption that Chinese women were entering the country to pursue prostitution. This law lasted until its repeal in 1974. Another discriminatory federal law, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, prohibited all immigration of Chinese laborers for ten years. The exclusion was extended in 1892, known as the Geary Act for another ten years. The exclusion lasted until 1943, two years after China became a member of the Allied Nations during WWII. 
 
Under systematic discrimination against Asian Americans in the 19th century, numerous Asian immigrants endured severe violence and injustices, including the 1871 massacre of nineteen Chinese immigrants in Los Angeles and the Rock Springs Massacre in 1885 in  Wyoming, killing twenty-eight Chinese miners.
Lesson plans and resources
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  • Home
    • About Us >
      • Social Justice Education
      • International Community Outreach >
        • Chiba Korean Elementary Middle School >
          • ESJF Student Art Competition
          • ESJF Statement: “After ‘Lack of Freedom of Expression?’” Shut Down to Suppress Freedom of Expression
          • Letter to Aichi Prefectural Triennale Promotion Office
        • Days for Girls International
    • Contact Us >
      • Workshop and Lecture Request
    • Blog
    • ESJF in the News
  • Topics
    • Countering Sexual & Gender-based Violence >
      • Japanese Military "Comfort Women" System >
        • International "Comfort Women" Day >
          • 30th Anniversary of Kim Hak-Soon Halmoni's public testimony >
            • Kim Hak-Soon Halmoni
        • 2000 Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal on Japan’s Military Sexual Slavery
        • 2015 "Comfort Women" Agreement
        • Historic Lawsuits related to Japanese military sexual slavery before and during WWII >
          • Sung Sohn's Essay with commentaries and statement
        • Wednesday Demonstration
        • Peace Statue
        • UNESCO and the "Voices of the 'Comfort Women'" >
          • Timeline
          • 2021 Youth Artwork Competition >
            • Guidelines
            • Application
          • 2021 Young Adult Online Campaign >
            • Guidelines
            • Application
      • Conflict-related SGBV in Tigray & Afghanistan
      • Reports and Papers on Sexual Violence & Slavery
    • History of and Issues Surrounding Asian Diaspora in the United States
    • Medical Atrocities and Use of Banned Weapons
  • Educator Resources
    • Countering Sexual & Gender-based Violence >
      • Japanese military sexual slavery system: Historical Background >
        • Lesson Plans and Worksheets >
          • ​Reality and trauma of military sexual slavery
          • Denial of legal and historical responsibility
          • ​Remembering and honoring "comfort women"
          • Collective activism
          • Contemporary movements towards justice
          • A Global plague
          • Worksheets
          • Puzzles
        • 2017 CA H-SS Framework >
          • Basic questions surrounding the Japanese Military Sexual Slavery System
        • Survivors' Testimonies & Legacies >
          • Korea
          • China
          • Philippines
          • Indonesia
          • Japan
          • Netherlands
        • Primary Source Documents: "Comfort Women" History and Issues >
          • Concerning the Recruitment of Women for Military Comfort Stations
          • Psychological Warfare Interrogation Report No. 49
          • Psychological Warfare Interrogation Bulletin No. 2
          • SEATIC Psychological Warfare Bulletin No. 182
          • G-3 Daily Dairy
          • C.B.I. Roundup
          • Allied Translator and Interpreter Section (ATIS) No. 470
          • Research Report No. 120: Amenities in the Japanese Armed Forces
          • San Francisco Local History >
            • Resolutions >
              • Resolution 158-25A1
            • Reflection and Chronology: Eric Mar
            • Reflection: Steven Whyte & Ellen Wilson
            • Chronology: Teaching "Comfort Women" History from the 1990s to Present
          • Photographs
        • Secondary Source Documents/ Further Resources: "Comfort Women" History and Issues >
          • Secondary Resource References
          • ESJF Statement on the South Korea Court’s ruling, April 21, 2021
          • ESJF Statement on the South Korea Court’s ruling, January 8, 2021
          • International Joint Statement, August 14, 2019
          • International Joint Statement, March 1, 2019
          • International Joint Statement, October 6, 2018
          • International Joint Statement, January 7, 2018
        • Map of Memorials in the United States
        • YouTube >
          • First Video Footage of Korean "Comfort Women": July, 2017
          • First Video Footage of Mass Murdered "Comfort Women": Feb. 2018
          • Life as a "Comfort Woman": Story of Kim Bok-Dong
          • Meet Estelita Dy: A Filipino "Comfort Woman" Survivor
          • 2015 "Comfort Women" Agreement and Victims' Reaction
          • 2018 International "Comfort Women" Day
        • 2017 Special Task Force Report on 2015 "Comfort Women" Agreement between S. Korea and Japan
      • Sexual and medical violence against Black Americans: Lesson plans >
        • Lesson Plans and Resources
    • History of and Issues Surrounding Asian Diaspora in the United States >
      • ESJF >
        • 19th Century >
          • Lesson Plans and Resources
        • 20th Century >
          • Lesson Plans and Resources
        • Today >
          • Lesson Plans and Resources
      • TACT >
        • K-5
        • 6-8
        • 9-12
      • Facing History and Ourselves
      • Fred T. Korematsu Institute
      • San Francisco Asian Art Museum
      • Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
    • Medical Atrocities and Use of Banned Weapons >
      • United States >
        • Lesson Plans
      • Asia >
        • Lesson Plans
        • Video Footage for Classroom
        • Primary Source Documents: Medical Atrocities and Ethics
        • Secondary Source Documents: Medical Atrocities and Ethics
      • Europe >
        • Lesson Plans
  • ESJF Publications
    • "Comfort Women" History and Issues >
      • Teacher Resource Guide >
        • How to Order
      • Student Resource Guide >
        • How to Order
    • Medical Atrocities and Use of Banned Weapons >
      • Asia
      • Europe
      • United States
  • Professional Development Events
  • Partnerships
  • Give