Kevin Muller

History 1700
Dr. Hoskisson
5 April 2017
Chinese Immigration: A dichotomy between angels and devils
In the year 1878 Californias Special Committee on Chinese Immigration came to the

conclusion that the Chinese were singlehandedly deconstructing civil and societal well-being.

The two documents included within this analysis are: On the Evils of Chinese Immigration, a

report created and published in 1878 by the Special Committee on Chinese Immigration to the

California State Senate; and Yan Phou Lees literature: The Chinese Must Stay, North

American Review Vol. 48, No. 389 (April 1889),pp.476-83. The former briefly mentions the role

of Chinese immigrants working on Californias infrastructure such as railroads; however, the

majority of the document demonizes Chinese immigrants, and evidences how they degrade

society. The passage by Lee in addition to examining the positive morals, work ethic, and overall

character of Chinese immigrants; responds to common arguments for the eviction and

deportation of Chinese immigrants. The Senate committee used fearmongering, xenophobia, and

straw-man arguments to depict a negative representation of Chinese immigrants, while Yan Lee

used rational analysis to evidence the true positive impact of the Chinese, and the barriers to

integration they faced.

Senate committees are assumed to be unbiased during projects and investigations; the

investigation into Chinese immigrants strays far beyond the boundaries of bias and into blatant

racism. Through the method of fearmongering the committee intended to paint a negative picture

of all Chinese immigrants. The passage starts with the claim that Chinese immigrants have

actively chosen to be antagonistic to the traits of the supposed average American. This outlook
initiates thoughts of us-vs.-them paradigms. The device of fearmongering exists throughout the

report, notably in sections pertaining to Chinese ethnic communities, Chinese culture, and

employment concerns. Chinese communities are postulated to inhibit criminals from being

prosecuted by police officers; meaning that Chinese criminals will be allowed to run free and

terrorize the public. Chinese culture is also used for the foundation of fear. The most significant

argument regarding Chinese culture that depends on fear is the claim that Chinese women would

corrupt youth and increase the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Of these three topics, the

fear of unemployment arguably had strongest relatable argument. The senate committee stated

that though cheap Chinese labor allowed for the development of Californian industry; at that

current time Chinese immigrants would continue to push out American workers and degrade the

American workforce. This fear of foreign/alien influence and conflict is further bolstered by the

claim that these Chinese immigrants cannot, and more so, will not uphold or defend the law of

the land: They fail to comprehend our system of government; they perform no duties of

citizenship; they are not available as jurymen; cannot be called upon as a posse comitatus, nor

can be relied upon as soldiers (Senate Committee Report, Page 2 Paragraph 2). The claim that

these immigrants would not stand up for liberty is appalling; these individuals were not even

permitted the right to be public servants for law enforcement of the executive branch. These

arguments that condemn immigrants for not performing civic duties, while subsequently ignoring

the fact that these individuals are not permitted to perform these duties displays the committees

use of straw man arguments. The last section of the second page addresses the wage difference

between Chinese immigrant workers and white workers. The straw man argument in this

situation is the claim that Chinese immigrants are going to hurt white workers by causing the pay

rate to sink. In their argument white workers require a higher pay rate in order to be able to buy
enough food to thrive. This is a strong man argument because it is impossible to argue that

people should not be able to buy enough food for themselves. Through the use of xenophobic

fearmongering and straw man arguments, the senate special committee on Chinese immigration

presented an atrocious depiction of Chinese immigrants, however not everyone wrote negatively

about Chinese immigrants.

The passage written by Yan Phou Lee depicts a picture of Chinese immigrants that varies

far from the opinions of the senate committee. As a native Chinese citizen who immigrated to the

US, Yan has a unique perspective when describing the turmoil of Chinese immigrants. Yan

begins his passage addressing the values that America prides itself upon, that all men are created

equal and that the founders of the US made this fair land a refuge for the whole world. He

argues that hate towards Chinese immigrants developed over time by no fault of the immigrants

themselves. Yan expresses that these individuals left their families not to take away from

Americans, but to purely make a better living for their families back home. Yan also highlights

the hypocrisy of allowing massive white European immigration while persecuting the relatively

small number of Chinese immigrants. Yan transfers his analysis to responding to claims against

Chinese immigration. Yan responds to many claims regarding the negative affect of Chinese

immigration, many of these statements relate to the claims produced by the senate committee.

Yans analysis and arguments against these statements echo the underlying issue evident in the

senate committees report.

If given open minds and opportunity Chinese immigrants would show the country that

they are more than just miners who thrive on rice and live in filth. They are not the corrupters

and criminals of society. Their religious views may stray from Republican Institutions and

Christian teachings, but as Yan states Republican Institutions have withstood the strain of
13,000,000 of the lower classes of Europe, among whom may be found Anarchists, Socialists,

Communists, Nihilists, political assassins, and cut-throats; but they cannot endure the assaults of

a few hundred thousands of the most peaceful and most easily governed people in the world. If

Yan Lee would have responded to the report presented by the senate committee, I would imagine

his criticism would not be the information itself, but rather the lack of opportunity for Chinese

immigrants to prove the committee wrong. It is easy to scoff at a man drug through the dirt and

muck, but if one were to clean him up and let him speak, his worth to the world would be

nothing to scoff at.