Angel Island Case Study

Words: 1360
Pages: 6

Angel Island; The Conflicts and Compromises of Historic Immigration In the early 1900s, construction of the Angel Island Immigration Station began to keep the migration of the Chinese under control. Before the construction, conflict of American racism toward the Chinese was solved by the Chinese Exclusion Act. Due to this act, passed in 1882, Chinese were not welcome to the United States. In order to be allowed in, they had to go through an interrogation process. In spite of the Chinese wanting to move to the United States for a better life, they were detained, poorly treated, and interrogated for days, even months. Sometimes resulting in deportation. In the 1940s, the Angel Island Immigration Station was burnt down and replaced by one in …show more content…
They sought better economic opportunities, During the years, thousands more came shortly after the Gold Rush. Eventually, the Chinese were pushed out of the gold fields and into low paying jobs. They worked for little money in jobs that no one wanted. In the 1870s, the American economy took a downfall. Serious unemployment problems resulted from this unfortunate change of events. Americans saw these aliens as a threat and protested the Asians for taking their jobs. Soon after, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was passed, restricting the number of Chinese living and moving to the United States. “The Geary Act extended the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act for an additional 10 years, and required persons of Chinese descent to acquire and carry identification papers.” (US Immigration Legislation Online). This act sought to solve the conflict between the Americans and the immigrants. With the construction of the Angel Island Immigration Station in 1905, the station was primarily used as a detention center to control the flood of Chinese immigrants. More conflicts arose after this act, affecting the treatment of these Asian …show more content…
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