" A]n exemplary subject reference."
-- Library Journal
"Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates though
faculty."
-- CHOICE
A whole class of people, forbidden from ever becoming citizens .
. . forbidden from even entering the country-their rights torn up
and trampled on, left with no political redress. This was the
United States of America from 1882 through 1943-if you had the
misfortune to be Chinese.
The United States Congress banned all Chinese from becoming U.S.
citizens from 1882 through 1943, and stopped most Chinese from even
entering the country starting in 1882. Forbidden Citizens recounts
this long and shameful legislative history. Congress passed
restrictive legislation between 1879 and 1904. The most notorious
was the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, described as "one of the
most vulgar forms of barbarism," by Rep. John Kasson (R-IA) in
1882.
These laws were targeted not only at immigration, they banned
citizenship, even for legal immigrants who had arrived before the
gate was closed in 1882. Barred from becoming voters, the Chinese
had no political recourse against repeated discrimination.
Because their appearance and lifestyle were so different, it was
easy to tyrannize the Chinese. Insisting that the Chinese could not
assimilate into American culture, lawmakers actively blocked them
from doing so. Democrats and Republicans alike found the Chinese
easy prey.
For the first time, this book assembles the complete legislative
history of Congress's Chinese exclusion.
"Our nation has the greatest ideals, standing as that 'city upon
a hill' for the world over to look toward with hope. Yet we have
not always been as welcoming as we have proclaimed. Forbidden
Citizens by Martin Gold tells the story of the exclusion of a
specific group, the Chinese people, for racial reasons that were
expressed in the most shocking terms. It is thorough, thoughtful,
and highly relevant today. This work presents the best scholarship
in the most accessible manner."
-- Frank H. Wu, Chancellor & Dean, University of California
Hastings College of the Law
"Through engaging narrative, Forbidden Citizens expertly tells a
story unfamiliar to most Americans, one that left a permanent scar
upon the psyche of Chinese Americans and changed our nation
forever. Martin Gold's thorough and pioneering research into
decades of Congressional history brings to life the politics of
Chinese exclusion in a way no one has."
-- Judy Chu, United States Representative (D-CA)
"Forbidden Citizens is a moving account of a regrettable part of
American history. Marty Gold has done us all a service by bringing
this story to light so that our past mistakes are never
repeated."
-- Scott Brown, United States Senator (R-MA)
"An important piece of scholarship, which vividly depicts the
intensity of anti-Chinese and anti-Asian feeling that was
widespread even among our intellectual and political elite only a
century ago."
-- Stephen Hsu, Professor of Physics, University of Oregon
For Complete Table of Contents, see ForbiddenCitizens.com
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