Author: Qian Huang
Translator: Pingbo Zhou
Abstract
In 1902, as the United States was about to extend the Chinese Exclusion Act again, defamatory and discriminatory rhetoric against the Chinese intensified. Twenty years after the Chinese Exclusion Act was adopted, the small Chinese American population had minimal economic and political influence and was powerless in the face of slander from all sides.
At this time, a human rights activist stepped forward. Not only did he refute the various objections towards the Chinese, he exposed the true reason for Chinese exclusion: politicians desperately needed the votes of union workers along the Pacific Coast.
Background
In the 19th century, America was open for immigration and did not have any immigration quotas. However, Congress blatantly violated the principle of “All men are created equal” and passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which exclusively prohibited Chinese immigration. This was the first immigration law in American history that specifically targeted one race. Ten years later, in 1892, Congress extended the Act by another ten years, and in 1902, Congress was about to extend the Act indefinitely. Each time Congress debated the Chinese Exclusion Act, American society would devolve into both verbal and physical violence against the Chinese. Based on the 1900 U.S. census, there were only 90,000 Chinese in the entire nation, which was roughly equivalent to one Chinese per every 850 Americans. With a small population and virtually no economic or political influence, the Chinese were powerless to fight back against the tide of anti-Chinese sentiment and the injustice of the Chinese Exclusion Act. At this time, a human rights activist stepped up on behalf of the Chinese. His name was William Lloyd Garrison Jr. (1838-1909). His family lived in Boston and his father was a renowned abolitionist in the media.
On January 12, 1902, the 64-year-old Garrison gave a lengthy speech at the Henry George Club in Philadelphia. He pointed out that the real reason for Chinese exclusion was for politicians to win the favor of union voters on the West Coast. At the same time, he provided a point-by-point refutation of the six most common objections against the Chinese that were promoted by proponents of Chinese exclusion[1].
Picture 1: Human rights activist William Lloyd Garrison Jr. Source: 1
Objection #1: Unable to Assimilate into American Society
If the Chinese had the right to vote and could participate meaningfully in elections, they would naturally assimilate into American society. Garrison pointed out: “If the Chinese wasted their time in saloons and bars, the liquor sellers, union leaders, and politicians would have seen that as evidence of assimilation into our society and stopped bothering them. There is only one method of getting people to assimilate: treat them with respect and see them as brothers. The Chinese are peaceful, hardworking, and patient. We must give them equal rights and treat them sincerely. Otherwise, we have no right to blame them for being clannish.”
The Chinese were victimized for their race ever since they first came to America. In 1853, California courts held that the Chinese did not have the right to serve as witnesses in court. The case in question: three white men robbed and killed a Chinese miner. Chinese eyewitnesses testified in court and the perpetrators were found guilty. However, upon appeal, the judge declared that “Chinese do not have the right to testify in court” and reversed the earlier ruling, freeing the killers[2].
In 1870, when Congress was discussing whether or not to give the right to vote to recently freed slaves, Senator William Morris Stewart of Nevada disrupted the session and deprived the Chinese of the right to naturalization. Because the Chinese did not have the right to vote, politicians not only ignored their welfare, but purposely slandered and excluded them in order to win further favor from union voters[3].
Picture 2: Cover of Puck Magazine in July 1880. Source: 2
This cartoon from July 1880 is captioned “Where Both Platforms Agree – No Vote – No Use to Either Party.” 1880 was the year of the presidential election. The cartoon depicts a Chinese man being crushed to death by planks nailed together by Republican candidate Garfield on the left and Democratic candidate Hancock on the right.
Shortly after the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed in 1882, many Chinese were violently expelled from their homes, particularly in the northwest. According to incomplete records, over 100 instances of anti-Chinese violence occurred in northwestern states. On September 2, 1885, a massacre broke out in Rock Springs, Wyoming and left 28 Chinese dead, some of whom were burned alive. An additional fifteen were severely injured or disabled and 26 were missing, and 79 Chinese residences were burned to the ground. The thugs were largely comprised of members of the Knights of Labor union, and no one was prosecuted for the crime[4].
Picture 3: A wood carving of the 1885 Rock Springs Massacre. Source: 3
In response to the alleged inability of the Chinese to assimilate into American society, famous New York social activist Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887) mockingly said the following: “We attack the Chinese with sticks and stones, we burn their homes and kill their people, yet they still do not convert to our religion. We want to show them heaven, so we have to send them there with explosives.”
Objection #2: The Chinese Send Their Money Home to China
Based on his understanding of immigrants from Europe, Garrison exposed the double standard present in the treatment of European immigrants who sent money back to Europe versus the Chinese who did the same thing with China: “Is there anything wrong with sending money back home? If so, why does no one have a problem with the Irish and Germans who do the same thing? The Chinese send back thousands while the Irish and Germans send back millions. The Swiss, Irish, and other people come to America exclusively to send money to those back home. Around Christmas, just one German steamboat carries over eleven hundred thousand dollars to Germany.” Garrison went on to say: “Loving your family and respecting your parents are virtues that should be lauded. Those who cast blame upon others who cherish their family bring disgrace upon themselves.”
Picture 4: Mail sent to family members by Chinese in America. Source: 4
“To send tribute and love to old and faraway homes is a beautiful thing. Whether the money is received on the banks of the Canton River (China) or the River Lee (Europe), it is a beautiful expression of human nature.”
Objection #3: Competition with American Labor
Garrison said: “At the time, America desperately needed labor, so the Chinese came. They did not come to take the jobs of American workers. I remember how needed Chinese workers were when construction began on the Northern Pacific Railroad 20 years ago. In Oregon, I heard the foremen talking about how difficult it was to find enough workers.”
In the early 1860s when construction began on the Pacific railroad, the United States was caught up in the Civil War and many young people were away at war, leading to a labor shortage in all sectors. Because railroad construction was extremely hard labor that required long durations away from home, the California railroad companies were in dire need of a large labor pool in order to compete with the well-established railroad companies in the eastern United States. Thus, they turned to Chinese labor.
Picture 5: Chinese railroad workers working for the Pacific Railroad Company in the Sierra Nevada. Source: 5
Garrison said: “It is the lazy and unmotivated who hate the hardworking and diligent. Those who are incompetent want to oppress those who are more capable than they are, but which group is more beneficial to the country?”
In 1878 the Washington Post wrote as follows: “No one can surpass them. They work diligently and earn every penny. They are honest and dependable. The Chinese are the best domestic servants and can be wholly trusted. They will not reveal anything they hear in the home to those outside. They love cleanliness and keep everything tidy. There are at least six thousand Chinese working as domestic servants in upper class families in San Francisco. The Chinese are quick learners and adept imitators. After working in the shoe factory for six months, the shoes they make are of the highest craftsmanship. They are simply too intelligent.”
Objection #4: They Do Not Spend Money and are Too Frugal
President Lincoln was famous for his thrift, and Garrison referenced Lincoln to rebuke these baseless accusations.
“Being frugal is a virtue in New England. Our historians like to refer to the noble character that arises out of hard times. Didn’t our great men come from those times?”
“The industry titans of Standard Oil Company and the steel industry spend lavishly, yet Lincoln’s contribution to the nation greatly surpasses them. If being frugal is a crime, Lincoln should have been deported.”
The Forbes[7], Russell[8], and Cunningham[9] families all derived their fortunes from the illegal American trafficking of opium in China in the 19th century. Lingding Channel in China was a former hotbed for American opium traffickers. Forbes took the profits he made from trafficking opium in China back to America to invest in railroads and other industries.
Garrison said: “The Forbes, Russell, and Cunningham families all made illicit fortunes off of opium in China, yet they took the money back to America to invest. Do we call them immoral for doing so?”
Columbia University’s iconic Low Memorial Library was constructed using money that Columbia’s president Seth Low’s (1850-1916) father made from selling opium in China. Low went on to become mayor of New York City in 1902.
Picture 6: Columbia University’s Low Memorial Library, which was built from opium profits. Source: 6
Objection 5: The Chinese Live in Crowded, Dirty Dwellings.
Garrison said in his 1902 speech: “Some say that the Chinese are prone to spread diseases because they live in dirty dwellings that are overcrowded and messy.”
When the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed in May 1882, The Wasp Magazine ran a cartoon on its cover that once again slandered the Chinese.
The artist, George Frederick Keller (1846-1883) was famous for his cartoons insulting the Chinese. The cartoon was captioned, “San Francisco’s Three Graces”. Three ghouls in white bear the words “Malarium”, “Smallpox”, and “Leprosy”, and one of the ghouls holds a scarf with the label “Chinatown”. In the forefront of the image is a ship. This cartoon pinned the blame for infectious diseases on Chinese immigrants[10].
Picture 7: The cover art for The Wasp Magazine’s May 1882 edition. Source: 7
Garrison said, “Who is to blame for this? The oppressed obviously need to stick together, they share common habits and a common language. Other races have all done the same thing, until eventually learning to mingle under the sunlight of freedom. However, the sunlight of American freedom has never shone upon the Chinese, and they have no choice but to congregate in crowded, unclean quarters, because our prejudices prevent them from improving their livelihoods.”
Garrison raised the example of African Americans in Boston going from living close together to eventually spreading across the city, saying “The Blacks in Boston used to be this way as well. They were formerly confined to living in the north of Beacon Hill. After emancipation, they began settling down in other areas like the South End and Roxbury.”
Objection 6: There are Prostitutes in Chinatown
Garrison stated, “What would be the outcome of antagonizing a race and preventing them from bringing their wives and children to America? If you were to put 15,000 or 20,000 whites together, and take away women, Chinatown would be a model city in comparison.”
After refuting the various objections and accusations made toward the Chinese, Garrison pointed out that the fundamental issue facing the Chinese was the lack of political power.
Garrison once allied with Massachusetts politicians and Chinese activist Wong Chin Foo to fight against the 1892 Geary Act[11].
The Garrison Family: A Cross-Century Battle Against Anti-Chinese Forces
Commonwealth Avenue is the most beautiful road in Boston, with greenery and flowers growing among statues of prominent American figures.
Picture 8: Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts. Source: 8
Garrison’s father, William Lloyd Garrison Sr. (1805-1879) has a statue on Commonwealth Avenue. In this cradle of American democracy, he fought until his last breath for the abolition of slavery and an end to the persecution of the Chinese.
Picture 9: A statue of William Lloyd Garrison Sr., father of William Lloyd Garrison Jr. Source: 9
Maine Congressman James G. Blaine (1830-1893) decided to run for President in the election of 1880[12]. Although there were very few Chinese on the East Coast at the time, Blaine supported Chinese exclusion and even incited anti-Chinese worker sentiment in order to win votes from union workers on the West Coast. In early 1879, Garrison Sr. penned an open letter condemning Blaine’s anti-Chinese motives, pointing out that the modern persecution of the Chinese was just like the oppression of Blacks during slavery. He stated that the tide of anti-Chinese sentiment was perpetuated by the same people who oppressed African Americans during slavery, and that abolitionists like himself spent their entire lives fighting against this type of oppression.
Picture 10: William Lloyd Garrison Sr. Source: 10
After publishing his open letter, Garrison Sr. received a special letter in response. A Chinese tea salesman in Boston, Wong Ar Chong, had read his letter in the newspaper and excitedly wrote the elder Garrison a letter. Wong’s letter began as follows: “The American Declaration of Independence affirmed that all men are born equal, and it is understood by the civilized world that America is a land of freedom, yet I worry that the American government is currently going backwards[13].”
Pictures 11 and 12: Wong Ar Chong’s letter to Garrison Sr. Source: 11 and 12
Garrison Sr.’s daughter, Fanny Garrison, was an advocate for women’s suffrage. She and her son founded the NAACP together[14].
In 2014, descendants of the Garrison family donated family heirlooms and artifacts from the abolition era to the Smithsonian Institute. They included photos, a watch, and weapons from the Civil War[15].
Picture 13: Artifacts donated to the Smithsonian Institute by Garrison Sr.’s descendants.
Expressing Our Admiration for the Garrison Family Through Our Vote
In 1870, the Chinese were deprived of the right to become naturalized citizens[16]. As a result, Chinese exclusion continued unopposed for the following eight decades (please see Historical Record of Chinese Americans article “Why Did They Fight So Hard to Prevent Chinese Naturalization in 1870?” for additional detail). It was not until late WWII, when Japan emphasized the history of Chinese exclusion to weaken the US-China alliance as it continued its expansion in Asia, that President Roosevelt abolished the Chinese Exclusion Act in December of 1943[17]. Because American labor unions worried that Chinese immigrants would take away jobs from Americans, Congress imposed a quota that only allowed 105 immigrants from China per year. Starting in 1944, the Chinese finally received the right to become naturalized citizens, 73 years after African Americans did.
On April 25, 1879, The Wasp Magazine published the following cartoon on its cover. After the Chinese were barred from naturalization and thus the right to vote, the caption read “If we could use the Chinese as ‘voting cattle’, like we do to Blacks in the south, that would be wonderful!”
Picture 14: A cartoon that was published in The Wasp Magazine in 1879. Source: 14
After Martin Luther King Jr. led the Civil Rights Movement in 1960, America was forced to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964[18] and the Hart-Celler Immigration Act of 1965[19]. These laws made mass Chinese immigration possible and also outlawed any racial discrimination for housing, employment, and education.
Picture 15: A chart of the Chinese American population from 1850 to 2017.
In 2020, the Chinese American population was around 6 million. Voter turnout among Chinese Americans in the 2016 election was only 41%, the second lowest among all ethnic groups in America.
In the 2020 Presidential election, voter turnout increased by 18% in aggregate. Chinese American voter turnout in this election has not yet been released, but there is good reason to believe that it increased significantly.
Compared to other Asian groups, the Chinese have the longest history in America and have endured the longest legacy of persecution and abuse. They received the right to vote a full 73 years after African Americans.
This ballot we hold in our hands today has walked a long, dark path. In 1870, Nevada Senator Stewart did everything he could to prevent the Chinese from receiving the right to vote, and paved the path for the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882.
After Knowing About the Arduous Journey It Has Taken Us to Receive the Right to Vote, How Can We Give Up That Right?
Afterword: Having written this much, I was unable to fight the urge to go to findagrave.com and leave a note and a bouquet of flowers for Garrison Sr. and Jr. However, I know that the best way we can honor them is by using our vote.
