I chose to blog on the Chinese Exclusion Act. After researching such topics I have become sympathetic to the hardships suffered by the Chinese throughout American history. My initial blog on the writings of Mr. Takaki has opened my eyes to a slew of realization that has simply floored me. My partner and I are doing our research project on Executive Order 9095, so it looks as though I will spend this semester retaining a good understanding of Asian American oppression throughout the years.
What I would like to elaborate on concerning the Chinese Exclusion Act is the degree of punishment a person would receive who transports a Chinese laborer to the U.S. mentioned in section two of the law. What I find strange is that the law was enacted 128 years ago and was considered a misdemeanor punishable with a maximum fine of 500.00 dollars and one year of incarceration. I looked into modern misdemeanor penalties in the state of Ohio and found that the most severe of misdemeanors only carry a maximum penalty of six months incarceration and a 500.00 dollar fine. It is not the amount of time incarcerated that perplexes me, it’s the fine amount. Even today 500.00 dollars is a large amount, but 128 years ago the fine of this amount of money is outrageous. It displays the U.S. intolerance and biasness towards the Chinese attempting to migrate to America.
Another aspect concerning penalties on violation of this law is brought up in section eleven of the act. As you can recall in section two a boat master will only be fined a maximum of 500.00 dollars for his participation involved in the importation of Chinese labor workers. In section eleven it states that the maximum fine penalty will be 1,000.00 dollars for an ordinary person involved in abetting aid to import Chinese labor workers. Both violations of the law are misdemeanors, and what concerns me the most is why a ship master suffers less severe consequences for violations of the same law as an ordinary Joe? This conflict of interest in the law simply shows that even during a time when law was not as respected as it is today legislation still was influenced by social status. It sickens me that the fine penalty for this misdemeanor violation exceeds the maximum fine penalty for a misdemeanor today. According to wikipedia.com in the 1800’s a severe punishment in the fining aspects of a misdemeanor was 35.00 to 40.00 dollars and 65.00 dollars for a felony.
It is not my intent for my classmate to view me as an Anti-American sentiment, I love my country and I am proud to be an American. However, the flaws in our nation’s past need to be addressed and learned from. If such topics as Executive Order 9095, the Chinese Exclusion Act and the Naturalization Law of 1790 are laid to rest then future recurrence may be possible. It all falls under learning from our mistakes, our dark past.
Steven--such an interesting post! I don't think it's "anti-American" to be knowledgeable about U.S. history and mistakes we've made (or even mistakes we continue to make). In fact, I think being reflective is a patriotic act. We need to know about these things so that we can do better in the future. :)
ReplyDeleteHey Steven!
ReplyDeleteWHEREAS, in the opinion of Peter of Hamilon, I am intrigued by the post of certain localities within the blog thereof – er, anyway. I’m glad that someone wrote about the Chinese Exclusion Act. It’s really interesting to me, though I still don’t feel like I fully understand it. Your post is well-written and helps me to put things in perspective, though.
You sort of looked past the difference in jail time between now and then, but that is what stuck out for me. Maybe I’m seeing things the wrong way here, but at a time when labor was crucial – so crucial that all these immigrants were needed in the first place – you’d think the law-makers would be less hesitant to put someone away for a year rather than six months. Especially if that person were a boat master, you would think that they’d want as much traffic as possible, importing and exporting supplies. This did help me to wrap my head around the fine difference a little bit though. I agree that classism/social standings were in play, but maybe it was more harm than good to put a boat master out of operation with an enormous $1,000.oo fine. However, if you’re still putting them in jail for a year, then isn’t that just as bad? Who knows.
On the topic of keeping people out of comission, SEC. 7 of the law is also baffling to me. If I’m understanding it correctly, it dictates that any Chinese immigrant/citizen who forges the certificate (required to leave the country by sea) will be fined $1,000.oo and put into jail for up to five years. Someone who tries to leave the U.S. on false papers will be forced to stay for five years instead? Isn’t that contradicting the point of the law?
The double-speak of “legalise” is confusing enough as it is, but when its subject matter also doesn’t make sense, things begin to look hopeless.