About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherHarvard University Press

ISBN-100674976010

ISBN-139780674976016

eBay Product ID (ePID)239682204

Product Key Features

Number of Pages360 Pages

Publication NameChinese Must Go : Violence, Exclusion, and the Making of the Alien in America

LanguageEnglish

SubjectDiscrimination & Race Relations, Emigration & Immigration, Ethnic Studies / Asian American Studies, United States / 19th Century, Security (National & International)

Publication Year2018

TypeTextbook

AuthorBeth Lew-Williams

Subject AreaLaw, Political Science, Social Science, History

FormatHardcover

Dimensions

Item Height0.1 in

Item Weight25 Oz

Item Length0.9 in

Item Width0.6 in

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Intended AudienceScholarly & Professional

LCCN2017-032640

ReviewsWith scrupulous research and conceptual boldness, Lew-Williams applies the nuances of a "scalar" lens to contrast anti-Chinese campaigns at local, regional, and national levels, producing a social history that significantly remakes the well-established chronology of Chinese exclusion by highlighting the role of anti-Chinese violence and vigilantism in advancing immigration controls on Chinese from goals of restriction to exclusion., Lew-Williams shows how the politics of racial violence and exclusion turned Chinese into the United States' first "modern aliens.", Simultaneously a beautifully paced, moving read--a powerful and deeply humane account of the emergence of the racialized border, the consequences of which have echoed down to the present., With scrupulous research and conceptual boldness, Lew-Williams applies the nuances of a 'scalar' lens to contrast anti-Chinese campaigns at local, regional, and national levels, producing a social history that significantly remakes the well-established chronology of Chinese exclusion by highlighting the role of anti-Chinese violence and vigilantism in advancing immigration controls on Chinese from goals of restriction to exclusion., An original and compelling analysis of Chinese exclusion in the second half of the nineteenth century, analyzing how the outbreak of anti-Chinese violence in 1885 was both caused by and helped shape American immigration policies., The Chinese Must Go shows how a country that was moving, in a piecemeal and halting fashion, toward an expansion of citizenship for formerly enslaved people and Native Americans, came to deny other classes of people the right to naturalize altogether...The stories of racist violence and community shunning are brutal to read. Lew-Williams particularly excels at invoking the psychological effects of the law on Chinese people living in the United States after the exclusion acts passed., With scrupulous research and conceptual boldness, Lew-Williams applies the nuances of a 'scalar' lens to contrast anti-Chinese campaigns at local, regional, and national levels, producing a social history that significantly remakes the well-established chronology of Chinese exclusion by highlighting the role of anti-Chinese violence and vigilantism in advancing immigration controls on the Chinese from goals of restriction to exclusion., Lew-Williams shows how the politics of racial violence and exclusion turned Chinese into the United States' first 'modern aliens.', Moving seamlessly from the local to the international, The Chinese Must Go offers a riveting, beautifully written new account of Chinese exclusion, one that foregrounds Chinese voices and experiences. A timely and important contribution to our understanding of immigration and the border., The Chinese Must Go presents a powerful argument about racial violence that could not be more timely. It shows why nineteenth-century pogroms against the Chinese in the American West resonate today. White nationalists targeted Chinese immigrants as threats to their homes and jobs and blamed the American government for failing to seal the borders., Lew-Williams shows how the politics of racial violence and exclusion turned Chinese immigrants into the United States' first 'modern aliens.'

TitleLeadingThe

Dewey Edition23

IllustratedYes

Dewey Decimal305.895/1073

SynopsisThe American West erupted in anti-Chinese violence in 1885. Following the massacre of Chinese miners in Wyoming Territory, communities throughout California and the Pacific Northwest harassed, assaulted, and expelled thousands of Chinese immigrants. Beth Lew-Williams shows how American immigration policies incited this violence and how the violence, in turn, provoked new exclusionary policies. Ultimately, Lew-Williams argues, Chinese expulsion and exclusion produced the concept of the "alien" in modern America. The Chinese Must Go begins in the 1850s, before federal border control established strict divisions between citizens and aliens. Across decades of felling trees and laying tracks in the American West, Chinese workers faced escalating racial conflict and unrest. In response, Congress passed the Chinese Restriction Act of 1882 and made its first attempt to bar immigrants based on race and class. When this unprecedented experiment in federal border control failed to slow Chinese migration, vigilantes attempted to take the matter into their own hands. Fearing the spread of mob violence, U.S. policymakers redoubled their efforts to keep the Chinese out, overhauling U.S. immigration law and transforming diplomatic relations with China. By locating the origins of the modern American alien in this violent era, Lew-Williams recasts the significance of Chinese exclusion in U.S. history. As The Chinese Must Go makes clear, anti-Chinese law and violence continues to have consequences for today's immigrants. The present resurgence of xenophobia builds mightily upon past fears of the "heathen Chinaman.", " A] powerful and deeply humane account of the emergence of the racialized border, the consequences of which have echoed down to the present." --Ellis W. Hawley Prize citation The American West erupted in anti-Chinese violence in 1885. Following the massacre of Chinese miners in Wyoming Territory, communities throughout California and the Pacific Northwest harassed, assaulted, and expelled thousands of Chinese immigrants. Beth Lew-Williams shows how American immigration policies incited this violence and how the violence, in turn, provoked new exclusionary policies. Ultimately, Lew-Williams argues, Chinese expulsion and exclusion produced the concept of the "alien" in modern America. The Chinese Must Go begins in the 1850s, before federal border control established strict divisions between citizens and aliens. Across decades of felling trees and laying tracks in the American West, Chinese workers faced escalating racial conflict and unrest. In response, Congress passed the Chinese Restriction Act of 1882 and made its first attempt to bar immigrants based on race and class. When this unprecedented experiment in federal border control failed to slow Chinese migration, vigilantes attempted to take the matter into their own hands. Fearing the spread of mob violence, U.S. policymakers redoubled their efforts to keep the Chinese out, overhauling U.S. immigration law and transforming diplomatic relations with China. By locating the origins of the modern American alien in this violent era, Lew-Williams recasts the significance of Chinese exclusion in U.S. history. As The Chinese Must Go makes clear, anti-Chinese law and violence continues to have consequences for today's immigrants. The present resurgence of xenophobia builds mightily upon past fears of the "heathen Chinaman.", "[A] powerful and deeply humane account of the emergence of the racialized border, the consequences of which have echoed down to the present." -Ellis W. Hawley Prize citation The American West erupted in anti-Chinese violence in 1885. Following the massacre of Chinese miners in Wyoming Territory, communities throughout California and the Pacific Northwest harassed, assaulted, and expelled thousands of Chinese immigrants. Beth Lew-Williams shows how American immigration policies incited this violence and how the violence, in turn, provoked new exclusionary policies. Ultimately, Lew-Williams argues, Chinese expulsion and exclusion produced the concept of the "alien" in modern America. The Chinese Must Go begins in the 1850s, before federal border control established strict divisions between citizens and aliens. Across decades of felling trees and laying tracks in the American West, Chinese workers faced escalating racial conflict and unrest. In response, Congress passed the Chinese Restriction Act of 1882 and made its first attempt to bar immigrants based on race and class. When this unprecedented experiment in federal border control failed to slow Chinese migration, vigilantes attempted to take the matter into their own hands. Fearing the spread of mob violence, U.S. policymakers redoubled their efforts to keep the Chinese out, overhauling U.S. immigration law and transforming diplomatic relations with China. By locating the origins of the modern American alien in this violent era, Lew-Williams recasts the significance of Chinese exclusion in U.S. history. As The Chinese Must Go makes clear, anti-Chinese law and violence continues to have consequences for today's immigrants. The present resurgence of xenophobia builds mightily upon past fears of the "heathen Chinaman.", Beth Lew-Williams shows how American immigration policies incited violence against Chinese workers, and how that violence provoked new exclusionary policies. Locating the origins of the modern American "alien" in this violent era, she makes clear that the present resurgence of xenophobia builds mightily upon past fears of the "heathen Chinaman."

LC Classification NumberE184.C5L564 2018

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Chinese Must Go : Violence, Exclusion, and the Making of the Alien in America by Beth Lew-Williams (2018, Hardcover)

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