"It is said that these Chinese are entitled while they remain to the
safeguards of the Constitution and to the protection of the laws in regard to
their rights of person and of property, but that they continue to be aliens,
subject to the absolute power of Congress to forcibly remove them. In
other words, the guaranties of 'life, liberty, and property' named in the
Constitution, are theirs by sufferance, and not of right. Of what avail are
such guaranties?...
"In view of this enactment by the highest legislative body of the foremost
Christian nation, may not the thoughtful Chinese disciple of Confucius
fairly ask, 'Why do they send missionaries here?'"
-- from the 1893 dissenting opinion of U.S. Supreme Court Associate
Justice David Brewer in Fong Yue Ting v. United States et al. Wong Quan v. United
States et al. Lee Joe v. United States et al., in which the majority of
the Court upheld the constitutionality of the Geary Act of 1892 (Retrieved
from https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/149/698/case.html)
The Geary Act, as explained here by Russell Freedman,
"required all persons of Chinese descent, including native-born citizens,
to carry photo identification cards proving their lawful presence in the
United States. At the time, no other group was required to hold such
documents."
That the Fong Yue Ting decision was handed down just three years prior to
the Court's infamous Plessy v. Ferguson decision, has me suspecting that
the late nineteenth century was a pretty lousy time to be anything but a
white Christian male if you found yourself in America.
And, yet, the willingness of the American Library Association's 1961
Newbery award committee to honor the Chinese stereotype-laden children's book, A
CRICKET IN TIMES SQUARE (insuring the perpetuation of these stereotypes
and prejudice through, yet, another generation thanks to all the teachers
across the country who then read the ALA-blessed CRICKET to their elementary
students), tells me that widespread acceptance of American anti-Chinese
sentiment was not a passing fad, but was -- and many might argue, still is --
deeply entrenched. (Somewhere along the way, in later editions, the most
egregious language in CRICKET was edited out.)
Wait! I thought this was a book about Angel Island?
And that it is. I learned from Freedman's ANGEL ISLAND: GATEWAY TO GOLD
MOUNTAIN that the infamous immigration station on Angel Island, more than
anything, was an important tool in decades-long, government-sanctioned,
xenophobic legislating against Chinese immigrants and Chinese Americans trying
to come home. That immigration station was built upon decades of prejudice:
"Politicians...were demanding that Chinese immigrants be excluded from the
United States. The Chinese were undesirable aliens, they charged, willing
to take on any type of work and to work for longer hours for less pay --
depriving whites of jobs. At a California Senate committee hearing in 1876,
Chinese immigration was described as an 'unarmed invasion' that threatened
the entire country. The rallying cry of the Workingmen's Party of
California was 'The Chinese Must Go!'"
(Doesn't that sound an awful lot like certain contemporary politicians and
media darlings ranting about Hispanic immigrants and Hispanic Americans?)
Here in California, ANGEL ISLAND: GATEWAY TO GOLD MOUNTAIN will be a
welcome and important addition to the trade literature available to help teach
California history. Freedman first walks readers through all of the
atrocities perpetuated against the Chinese -- by mobs and through legislation
--beginning in the 1800s, so that when he proceeds to detail what Angel
Island's Immigration Station was all about, we understand why the system there was
set up as it was.
We teach California history in fourth grade. Consistent with that fourth
grade audience, this book is -- in relation to Freedman's typical
authorship -- a relatively shorter book with relatively larger text and plenty of
photos. It will be readily accessible to that fourth grade audience and will
also serve quite notably as a great introduction for older readers who,
like me, will likely finish it wanting to know more about all sorts of
interrelated issues and events that Freedman introduces.
It has now been five years since I rode the ferry from Tiburon over to
Angel Island and wandered the trails around what is one heck of a beautiful
place. Last time, it was the summer before the Immigration Station was
opened as a museum. Now, understanding the significance of that facility, I'll
be heading down there in the near future for another visit.
Ages 9 and up 96 pages 978-0-547-90378-1
Recommended by: Richie Partington, MLIS, Librarian, California USA
Richie's Picks _https://richiespicks.com_ (https://richiespicks.com/)
**********
Angel Island, off the coast of California, was the port of entry for Asian immigrants to the United States between 1892 and 1940. Following the passage of legislation requiring the screening of immigrants, "the other Ellis Island" processed around one million people from Japan, China, and Korea. Drawing from memoirs, diaries, letters, and the "wall poems" discovered at the facility long after it closed, the nonfiction master Russell Freedman describes the people who came, and why; the screening process; detention and deportation; changes in immigration policy; and the eventual renaissance of Angel Island as a historic site open to visitors. Includes archival photos, source notes, bibliography, and index. – from the publisher
96 pages 978-0544810891 Ages 10-12 Grades 5-7
Keywords: immigrants, immigration, Angel Island, American history, diversity, diverse books, multicultural, prejudice, discrimination, racism, injustice, social conditions, social issues, social commentary, 10 year old, 11 year old, 12 year old, Social Studies Curriculum
