The Chinese began migrating into the United States mainly from the 1850s. The migration was propelled by drought and floods on the Opium trade between the Chinese and the British. As a result, the lower-class Chinese workers moved out in search of better opportunities in different regions. The Chinese were attracted by the discovery of gold in California in 1848. Others got employed as laborers in American farms, including the booming textile trade in San Francisco and the ongoing railway expansion. However, their influx and admiration from the white employers attracted envy from white workers who saw them as a threat to their livelihood (Rotondi, 2021). Hence, the white Americans formed an anti-Chinese movement to tarnish their image as dirty and disease-ridden.
The initial resistance against the Chinese started in 1875 with the enactment of the Page Act. The legislation was targeted against the immigration of Chinese women who worked as prostitutes. However, a few government officials took advantage of the law to bar all Asian women from entering America. In 1882 the Chinese Exclusion Act was enacted to bar laborers from entering the U.S. It was renewed in 1892 and made permanent in 1904. Rotondi (2021) states that the barring of the Chinese paved the way for more Japanese migrants. The Americans also regrouped to oppose the influx of Japanese migrants leading to the Gentleman’s agreement between the U.S. and China to limit their number. The same fate met immigrants from Korea and India.
The opposition against Asian immigrants gave rise to Orientalism. As a result, the Asians were labeled Orientals, and the whites were labeled Occident. The Orientals were regarded as weak, immoral, and irrational. At that time, the Americans perceived Asians as people who could not be assimilated into the American culture, nor could they rise to be good American citizens Rotondi, 2021). The U.S. Immigration law also grouped the Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, and Indians into a group of Orientals or aliens who could not become useful citizens or be naturalized.
The Asians who had already entered the U.S. had to grapple with difficult moments. They faced discrimination from many quarters, including housing, education, employment, pay, use of public facilities, and union membership, among others. The Asians came together to resist the discrimination against them due to frustration and took inspiration from the Black Liberation Movement. The Asian Movement was based on the united yellow people’s power and was mainly pushed by students who desired that ethnic studies be included in the school curriculum (Wallace, 2020). The Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee and the Vietnam War also inspired the growth of the Asian Movement. The movement started to take shape in the 1960s.
Orientalism and the Yellow Power involved the Asians who had immigrated to the U.S.; however, they differed in several ways. Orientalism emanated from the actions of the U.S. administration through the U.S. Immigration law. It targeted Asians who intended to migrate into the country. On the other hand, Yellow Power and the Asian American consciousness were started by the Asian Americans who needed to fight racism and discrimination inside the U.S. (Wallace, 2020). Furthermore, Orientalism was supported by law, while the Yellow Power had no legal foundation. The white Americans started Orientalism, and the Yellow Power was started by the Asians living in the United States. Orientalism sought to oppress the Asians, but the Yellow Power sought to redeem the Asian Americans against social injustices in the country.
References
Rotondi, J. P. (2021).Before the Chinese Exclusion Act, This Anti-Immigrant Law Targeted Asian Women. HISTORY. Web.
Wallace, N. (2020). Yellow Power: The Origins of Asian America. Densho: Japanese American Incarceration and Japanese Internment. Web.