Current Connections to Chinese Exclusion

The themes of our institute are not locked in the past and still play out daily in the press.  Politicians have long evoked nativist and xenophobic passions to rally support.  We see these ideas in presidential candidate, Donald Trump's rhetoric towards immigrants in general, and Muslims in particular.  This Washington Post piece draws comparisons between current politics and the 19th century tide of anti-Chinese sentiment that ushered in the Chinese Exclusion Act.  This act allows us not only to explore the mistreatment of a particular group, but also speaks to the values our nation embraced as it sought to define itself.  

This Harper's Weekly cartoon is a great source to explore anti-Chinese views of the day.
Here's  the National Archives link link to the official act.

​The Stanford History Education Group developed a longer DBQ lesson on this topic.  Check it out here! 

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