History of AntiChinese Legislation

1
History of Anti-Chinese Legislation
2
Foreign-Born Groups in California,Sucheng Chan,
A People of Exceptional Character
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Governor Bigler, 1852

• In order to enhance the prosperity and to
  preserve the tranquility of the State, measures
  must be adopted to check this tide of Asiatic
  immigration, and prevent the exportation by them
  of the precious metals which they dig up from our
  soil without charge, and without assuming any of
  the obligations imposed upon citizens.

5
Governor Bigler

• Let us consider the vile coolies, who like craven
  beasts work the goldmines only to return to their
  native land and bring no profit to our state.

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Theodore Hittell,History of California (1897)
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Foreign Miners Tax

• In 1850, California state legislature passed the
  first Foreign Miners' Tax Law, levying a
  20-per-month tax on each foreigner engaged in
  mining.
• Many foreign miners refused to pay the tax and
  left the country.
• The tax was repealed in 1851
• A 4 tax was passed in 1852

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Foreign Miners Tax (1853)

• Section 1. That from and after the passage of
  this Act, no person, not being a citizen of the
  United States (California Indians excepted) shall
  be allowed to take gold from the mines of this
  State, unless he shall have a license therefor,
  as hereafter provided. . . .

10
Foreign Miners Tax (1853)

• Section 6. The amount to be paid for each license
  shall be at the rate of four dollars per month,
  and said license shall in no case be
  transferable.

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What is 4 in 1853 worth now?

• By the 21st Century , 4.00 from 1853 was worth
• 94.65 (using the Consumer Price Index)
• 1,234.33 (using the GDP per capita)
• 14,355.75 (using the relative share of GDP)

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Foreign Miners Tax (1853)

• All foreigners residing in the mining districts
  of this State shall be considered miners under
  the provisions of this Act, unless they are
  directly engaged in some other lawful business
  avocation.

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Tax CollectingDiary of Charles De Young, Oct.
23, 1855

• Started with Dick Wade and Bob Moulthrop
  collecting supper at Hesses Crossing went down
  the river in the night collected all the way had
  a great time, Chinamen tails cut off.

14
California Tax CollectorsQuoted in Chang, The
Chinese in America

• I had no money to keep Christmas with, so sold
  the chinks nine dollars worth of bogus receipts.
• I was sorry to have to stab the poor fellow but
  the law makes it necessary to collect tax, and
  thats where I get my profit.

15
Ex Parte Ah Pong19 Cal. 106 (1861)

• The mere fact that the petitioner was a Chinaman
  residing in a mining district, does not subject
  him to the foreign miners' tax. If the act is to
  be construed as imposing this tax, it cannot be
  supported, any more than could a law be sustained
  which imposed upon every man residing in a given
  section of the State a license as a merchant,
  whatever his occupation.

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An Act to Discourage Immigration of Persons who
Cannot Become Citizens (1855)

• Section 1. The master, owner, or consignee of
  any vessel, arriving in any of the ports of this
  State from any foreign State, country, or
  territory, having on board any persons who are
  incompetent by the laws of the United States or
  the laws and constitution of this State to become
  citizens thereof are hereby required to pay a
  tax, for each such person, of fifty dollars.

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19
People v. Downer,7 Cal. 169 (1857)

• State sued the owners of the ship Stephen
  Baldwin, to recover the sum of twelve thousand
  seven hundred and fifty dollars, passenger tax on
  two hundred and fifty Chinese passengers, brought
  on that ship from Hong Kong, under the provisions
  of the Act of April 28, 1855.
• Defendants demurred, and the trial court
  sustained the demurrer.

20
People v. Downer,7 Cal. 169 (1857)

• The question arising in this case was fully
  considered and settled in the Passengers Cases,
  7 Howard, by the Supreme Court of the United
  States. . . . Where a question can only be
  argued upon refined distinctions, when once
  settled, it ought to remain settled.
• We, therefore, decide that the Act of this State,
  laying a tax of fifty dollars each on Chinese
  passengers, is invalid and void.

21
An Act to Prevent the Further Immigration of
Chinese or Mongolians (1858)

• Any person, or persons, of the Chinese or
  Mongolian races, shall not be permitted to enter
  this State, and it shall be unlawful for any
  man to knowingly allow , any Chinese or
  Mongolian, to enter any place, within the
  border of this State, and any person violating
  any of the provisions of this Act, shall be held
  and deemed guilty of a misdemeanor,

22
An Act to Prevent the Further Immigration of
Chinese or Mongolians (1858)

• and upon conviction thereof shall be subject to
  a fine in any sum not less than four hundred
  dollars, nor more than six hundred dollars, for
  each and every offense, or imprisonment in the
  County Jail of the County in which the said
  offense was committed, for a period of not less
  than three months, nor more than one year, or by
  both such fine and imprisonment.

23
The Fate of the 1858 Act

• The bill was duly enacted into law but was
  struck down by the California Supreme Court in an
  unpublished opinion when the first attempt to
  enforce it was made.
• McClain, Californias First Anti-Chinese Laws

24
An Act to Protect Free White Labor (1862)

• Sec 1. There is hereby levied on each person,
  male and female, of the Mongolian race, of the
  age of eighteen years and upwards, residing in
  this State, except such as shall, under laws now
  existing, or which may hereafter be enacted, take
  out licenses to work in the mines, or to
  prosecute some kind of business, a monthly
  capitation tax of two dollars and fifty cents,
  which tax shall be known as the Chinese Police
  Tax provided, That all Mongolians exclusively
  engaged in the production and manufacture of the
  following articles shall be exempt from the
  provisions of this Act, viz sugar, rice, coffee,
  tea. 

25
An Act to Protect Free White Labor (1862)

• Sec. 4 The Collector shall collect the Chinese
  police tax, from all persons liable to pay the
  same, and may seize the personal property of any
  such person refusing to pay such tax, and sell
  the same at public auction, by giving notice by
  proclamation one hour previous to such sale and
  shall deliver the property, together with a bill
  of sale thereof, to the person agreeing to pay,
  and paying, the highest thereof, which delivery
  and bill of sale shall transfer to such person a
  good and sufficient title to the property.

26
An Act to Protect Free White Labor (1862)

• And after deducing the tax and necessary expenses
  incurred by reason of such refusal, seizure, and
  sale of property, the Collector shall return the
  surplus of the proceeds of the sale, if any, . . .

27
An Act to Protect Free White Labor (1862)

• Sec. 7. Any person or company who shall hire
  persons liable to pay the Chinese police tax
  shall be held responsible for the payment of the
  tax due from each person so hired and no
  employer shall be released from this liability on
  the ground that the employee in indebted to him
  (the employer), and the Collector may proceed
  against any such employer in the same manner as
  he might against the original party owing the
  taxes.

28
Lin Sing v. Washburn, 20 Cal. 534 (1862)

• It must be admitted that the act before us is a
  measure of special and extreme hostility to the
  Chinese, and that the power asserted in its
  passage is the right of the State to prescribe
  the terms upon which they shall be permitted to
  reside in it. This right, if carried to the
  extent to which it may be carried if the power
  exists, may be so used as to cut off all
  intercourse between them and the people of the
  State, and obstruct and block up the channels of
  commerce, laying an embargo upon trade, and
  defeating the commercial policy of the nation.
  The act is sought to be maintained as a police
  regulation but this branch of the police power
  has been surrendered to the government as a part
  of the power to regulate commerce, and its
  exercise by a State is incompatible with the
  authority of the government.

29
Lin Sing v. Washburn, 20 Cal. 534 (1862)

• We may dismiss from the case the question of the
  power of the States to exclude obnoxious persons,
  such as paupers and fugitives from justice, for
  it nowhere appears that the Chinese as a class
  are of that description nor does the act pretend
  to deal with them as such. . . . That they may be
  taxed as other residents is not disputed, but
  that they may be set apart as special subjects of
  taxation, and be compelled to contribute to the
  revenue of the State in their character of
  foreigners, is a proposition which cannot be
  maintained. If this may be done, there is no
  restriction upon the power that does it, and a
  tax may be imposed which no human industry can
  pay, precluding all intercourse, and making it as
  impossible as if it were positively prohibited.

30
An Act to Prevent the Importation of Chinese
Criminals and to Prevent the Establishment of
Coolie Slavery (1870)

• Whereas, Criminals and malefactors are being
  constantly imported from Chinese seaports, whose
  depredations upon property entail burdensome
  expense upon the administration of criminal
  justice in this State and whereas, by the
  importation of such persons a species of slavery
  is established and maintained which is degrading
  to the laborer and at war with the spirit of the
  age now, therefore, in the exercise of the
  police powers appertaining to this State, ...

31
An Act to Prevent the Importation of Chinese
Criminals and to Prevent the Establishment of
Coolie Slavery (1870)

• Section 1. Its unlawful to bring or to land
  from any ship, boat or vessel, into this State,
  any Chinese or Mongolian, born either in the
  Empire of China or Japan, or in any of the
  islands adjacent to the Empire of China, without
  first presenting to the Commissioner of
  Immigration evidence satisfactory to him that
  such Chinaman or Mongolian desires voluntarily to
  come into this State, and is a person of correct
  habits and good character, and thereupon
  obtaining from such Commissioner of Immigration a
  license or permit,

32
An Act to Prevent the Importation of Chinese
Criminals and to Prevent the Establishment of
Coolie Slavery (1870)

• Sec. 2. Any master, officer, owner or part owner
  of any steamship, sailing or other vessel, or any
  other person, violating any of the provisions of
  this Act, or assisting in such violation, shall
  be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be
  punished by a fine of not less than one thousand
  dollars nor more than five thousand dollars, or
  by imprisonment for a term of not less than two
  nor more than twelve months, or by both such fine
  and imprisonment

33
An Act to Prevent the Importation of Mongolian,
Chinese, and Japanese Females (1870)

• Whereas, The business of importing into this
  State Chinese women for criminal and demoralizing
  purposes has been carried on extensively during
  the past year, to the scandal and injury of the
  people of this State, and in defiance of public
  decency and whereas, many of the class referred
  to are kidnapped in China, and deported at a
  tender age, without their consent and against
  their will therefore, in exercise of the police
  power appertaining to every State of the Union,
  for the purpose of remedying the evils above
  referred to and preventing further wrongs of the
  same character . . .

34
An Act to Prevent the Importation of Mongolian,
Chinese, and Japanese Females (1870)

• Section 1. It shall not be lawful, from and
  after the time when this Act takes effect, to
  bring, or land from any ship, boat, or vessel,
  into this State, any Mongolian, Chinese, or
  Japanese females, born either in the Empire of
  China or Japan, or in any of the islands adjacent
  to the Empire of China, without first presenting
  to the Commissioner of Immigration evidence
  satisfactory to him that such female desires
  voluntarily to come into this State, and is a
  person of correct habits and good character

35
An Act to Prevent the Importation of Mongolian,
Chinese, and Japanese Females (1870)

• Sec. 2. Any master, officer, owner or part owner
  of any steamship, sailing or other vessel, or any
  other person violating any of the provisions of
  this Act, shall be deemed guilty of a
  misdemeanor, and shall be punished by a fine of
  not less than one thousand dollars nor more than
  five thousand dollars, or imprisonment for a term
  not less than two nor more than twelve months, or
  by both such fine and imprisonment.

36
An Act to Prevent the Importation of Mongolian,
Chinese, and Japanese Females (1870)

• Sec. 3. Every individual person of the class
  hereinbefore referred to, transported into this
  State contrary to the provisions of this Act,
  shall render the person so transporting liable to
  a separate prosecution and penalty, and the
  transportation of each one as aforesaid shall
  create a separate and distinct offense, and
  render the person offending liable to the pains
  and penalties herein provided.

37
California Constitution, Art. XIX, Sec. 1 (1879)

• Section 1. The Legislature shall prescribe all
  necessary regulations for the protection of the
  State, and the counties, cities, and towns
  thereof, from the burdens and evils arising from
  the presence of aliens who are or may become
  vagrants, paupers, mendicants, criminals, or
  invalids afflicted with contagious or infectious
  diseases, and from aliens otherwise dangerous or
  detrimental to the well-being or peace of the
  State, and to impose conditions upon which
  persons may reside in the State,

38
California Constitution, Art. XIX, Sec. 2 (1879)

• No corporation now existing or hereafter formed
  under the laws of this State, shall, after the
  adoption of this Constitution, employ directly or
  indirectly, in any capacity, any Chinese or
  Mongolian.

39
California Constitution, Art. XIX, Sec. 3 (1879)

• No Chinese shall be employed on any State,
  county, municipal, or other public work, except
  in punishment for crime.

40
California Constitution, Art. XIX, Sec. 4 (1879)

• The presence of foreigners ineligible to become
  citizens of the United States is declared to be
  dangerous to the well-being of the State, and the
  Legislature shall discourage their immigration by
  all the means within its power. Asiatic coolieism
  is a form of human slavery, and is forever
  prohibited in this State, and all contracts for
  coolie labor shall be void. All companies or
  corporations, whether formed in this country or
  any foreign country, for the importation of such
  labor, shall be subject to such penalties as the
  Legislature may prescribe.

41
United States Constitution and Immigration

• Art. I, sec. 8 The Congress shall have Power . .
  . To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization.
  . . .
• Art. I, sec. 9 The Migration or Importation of
  such Persons as any of the States now existing
  shall think proper to admit, shall not be
  prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one
  thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or
  duty may be imposed on such Importation, not
  exceeding ten dollars for each Person.

42
California Constitution, Art. XIX, Sec. 4 (1879)

• The Legislature shall delegate all necessary
  power to the incorporated cities and towns of
  this State for the removal of Chinese without the
  limits of such cities and towns, or for their
  location within prescribed portions of those
  limits, and it shall also provide the necessary
  legislation to prohibit the introduction into
  this State of Chinese after the adoption of this
  Constitution.

43
The Know-Nothing Judges of the California Supreme
Court
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The Know-Nothing Judges of the California Supreme
Court
45
People v. Hall (1854)

• The 394th section of the Act Concerning Civil
  Cases, provides that no Indian or Negro shall be
  allowed to testify as a witness in any action or
  proceeding in which a White person is a party.
• The 14th section of the Act of April 16th, 1850,
  regulating Criminal Proceedings, provides that
  No Black, or Mulatto person, or Indian, shall be
  allowed to give evidence in favor of, or against
  a white man.

46
People v. Hall (1854)

• Why are Chinese to be considered Indians?
• When Columbus first landed upon the shores of
  this continent, in his attempt to discover a
  western passage to the Indies, he imagined that
  he had accomplished the object of his expedition,
  and that the Island of San Salvador was one of
  those Islands of the Chinese sea, lying near the
  extremity of India, which had been described by
  navigators.

47
People v. Hall (1854)

• When Columbus first landed upon the shores of
  this continent, in his attempt to discover a
  western passage to the Indies, he imagined that
  he had accomplished the object of his expedition,
  and that the Island of San Salvador was one of
  those Islands of the Chinese sea, lying near the
  extremity of India, which had been described by
  navigators.

48
People v. Hall (1854)

• Ethnology, at that time, was unknown as a
  distinct science, or if known, had not reached
  that high point of perfection which it has since
  attained by the scientific inquiries and
  discoveries of the master minds of the last half
  century. Few speculations had been made with
  regard to the moral or physical differences
  between the different races of mankind.

49
People v. Hall (1854)

• The general, or perhaps universal opinion of that
  day was, that there were but three distinct types
  of the human species, which, in their turn, were
  subdivided into varieties or tribes. This opinion
  is still held by many scientific writers, and is
  supported by Cuvier, one of the most eminent
  naturalists of modern times.

50
People v. Hall (1854)

• The word Black may include all Negroes, but the
  term Negro does not include all Black persons.
  By the use of this term in this connection, we
  understand it to mean the opposite of White,
  and that it should be taken as contradistinguished
  from all White persons.In using the words, No
  Black, or Mulatto person, or Indian shall be
  allowed to give evidence for or against a White
  person, the Legislature, if any intention can be
  ascribed to it, adopted the most comprehensive
  terms to embrace every known class or shade of
  color, as the apparent design was to protect the
  White person from the influence of all testimony
  other than that of persons of the same caste. The
  use of these terms must, by every sound rule of
  construction, exclude every one who is not of
  white blood.

51
People v. Hall (1854)

• We are of the opinion that the words White,
  Negro, "Mulatto, Indian, and Black
  person, wherever they occur in our Constitution
  and laws, must be taken in their generic sense,
  and that, even admitting the Indian of this
  Continent is not of the Mongolian type, that the
  words Black person, in the 14th section must be
  taken as contradistinguished from White, and
  necessarily excludes all races other than the
  Caucasian.

52
People v. Hall (1854)

• The anomalous spectacle of a distinct people,
  living in our community, recognizing no laws of
  this State except through necessity, bringing
  with them their prejudices and national feuds, in
  which they indulge in open violation of law
  whose mendacity is proverbial a race of people
  whom nature has marked as inferior, and who are
  incapable of progress or intellectual development
  beyond a certain point, as their history has
  shown differing in language, opinions, color,
  and physical conformation between whom and
  ourselves nature has placed an impassable
  difference, is now presented, and for them is
  claimed, not only the right to swear away the
  life of a citizen, but the further privilege of
  participating with us in administering the
  affairs of our Government.