Chapter 2 notes of Helen Zia's Asian American Dreams book. One of the designated chapter books for UCI's Asian American Communities course (AsianAm52).
Chapter 2: Surrogate Slaves to American Dreams
● Why did Zia write the second chapter as a basic history of Asian Americans?
Because many do not know our past. We were “invisible,” made to be silenced by the
“winners” of history.
● Who/what is being silenced by mainstream history?
● In what ways were Zia’s experiences as a born-citizen Asian American differ from her
parents as immigrant Americans?
● How did things in culture (movies, news, etc.) affect her ability to build a Chinese
American identity?
● Do we still have problems with representation in the media?
● Noticed that no Asianam mentioned in US history classes-> grew up believing no one
like her contributed to building of America.
● Wasn’t brought up until the 2nd World War, where Asians were seen as the enemy:
either invisible or reviled.
● Father angered by the Britannica sections on China; said it was outdated and
inaccurate, yet still quizzed kids on them.
- Lectured them on China’s past to make up for “shortcomings in Western texts.” ex.
Cheng Ho
● In college, met scholars and activists who fought for the names and faces of Asianam to
be in history textbooks.
● Asianam appeared in Americas as early as 1500s, long before the 13 colonies.
- Sailors from the Philippines were recruited into Spanish ships; # of them jumped ship
and settled on the coast of today’s Louisiana.
- British “indentured coolie labor from China and India” to perform same work as slaves,
w/ same conditions.
- “With China and India in political/economic chaos,” thanks to British imperial expansion,
Asian workers became desperate enough to take low-paying, cheap jobs. Trend persists
today.
- Beginning 1845, Chinese shipped to British, French colonies, later South America->
became substitutes for dwindling African slave labor force.
- Majority of laborers were men-> creating numerous ‘bachelor societies’ that would fester
stigma against Asian men: seen as dangerous, ungodly creatures (Heathens) esp
dangerous to white women.
The Pioneers From Asia
● ~44k Chinese immigrated to CA during Gold Rush in a 10 yr period
-Chinese men “semifree:” were in debt from “high-interest loans for their passage to America”
according to K. Scott Wong and Sucheng Chan.
● New laws and taxes targeted Chinese. Ex A foreign miners tax only given to Chinese
miners, excluding Europeans.-> “Discriminatory treatment... overtly racist”
● “Tax gave way to complete prohibition of Chinese from mining”-> found work by 1865,
building Central Pacific Railroad.
● 12k Chinese were contracted in 2 yrs; ~90% of the company’s workforce.
, Asian American Dreams by Helen Zia
● 10% of Chinese died building railroad. Paid less compared to European workers (60
cents to a dollar)->
● Went on to strike dangerous and unfair conditions, but Crocker cut off their food supply.
● Acknowledgements went to European workers when Transcontinental road finished in
1869. Excluded from congratulatory speeches, photographs, etc. Another piece of
evidence that Asians were made invisible in history, despite being the main labor
force to Transcontinental Road.
The Driving Out Time (CHINESE)
● In late 1870s, Anti-Chinese “Yellow Peril” prevalent in the West: ex “white farm workers
set fire to barns and fields” of Chinese.
● “Democrats exploited racial hysteria to win the support of labor,” “Repubs supported
business ideal of an unlimited supply of” low-wage, second class labor. bOTH PARTIES
USED RACISM TO rile up WHITE WORKERS, AND ultimately sway the American
people.
● Driving Chinese out-> Chinese Exclusion Act (1882): forbade Chinese from obtaining
citizenship, and stopped anymore from immigrating to the US.
- First ever legislation passed by Congress targeting racial group.
● Chinese American organized civil rights groups to counter Yellow Peril fever.
● American-born Wong Kim Ark was denied reentry into the US in 1898-> US Supreme
Court ruled that all persons born in the US are natural citizens (after Wong’s appeals)
An Elusive Dream (JAPANESE, INDIANS, KOREANS)
● Other Asians offered themselves as replacement to the Chinese, but planned to achieve
more- actually “succeed in becoming American.”
● “Ethnic hostilities were used to pit the Asians against one another.” Purposefully
wanted to segregate Asian immigrants-> so they wouldn’t realize the racial
injustice and band together to protest???
● *Many immigrated to seek a better life for them and their families in America. Ex. for the
Japanese, it was bc of an economic crisis; nation-wide starvation led them to believe US
was their only salvation.
● Japanese govt viewed their US emigrants as representatives of their nations. Valued
their citizens more than the Chinese govt did.
● Nisei- 2nd gen American-born Japanese; made up the first Asianam baby boom
● Alien Land Law (1920)- prevented any Asian from owning land in CA.
● US Supreme Court withheld citizenship to Asians simply bc they were not Caucasian.
● Ironically accused of being “too ready to adapt” despite their Chinese counterparts also
being criticised for not assimilating.
● Immigration Act of 1924- “Barred anyone who was ‘forbidden to be a US citizen’ from
immigrating at all;” vague enough to affect all of Asian immigrants, but mainly targeted
Japanese. Was meant to halt their immigration, despite ‘white’ immigrants pouring in at
an alarming rate, higher than Japanese.
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