Historical Image of the Day

One of my favorite images of anti-Asian racism, this less than subtle image from either the late 1870s or early 1880s lays it out there for all of us to see. The Workingman's Party was the dominate force in California politics during the years leading up to Chinese exclusion. Their entire platform consisted of saving California for the white man by ending Chinese immigration. That they became such a political threat to both parties helped lead to the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882.

In this get out the vote image, you see the white man kicking the Chinese guy in the butt, with his queue extending all the way over the Pacific back to China, where he is fleeing.

Historical Image of the Day

This week's images will look at anti-Asian propaganda in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Handbill celebrating the Chinese Exclusion Act. The Chinese Exclusion Act was passed in 1882, becoming the first law to ban an entire nation's immigrants from our shores. However, I'm not convinced that this image dates from that year, despite its celebratory tone. That's because it proclaims a Democratic president signed it. But Chester Arthur, a Republican if there was one, was president in 1882. So I'm assuming this handbill celebrates some kind of extension or modification signed by Grover Cleveland during one on his two terms.

However, one great thing about this handbill is the celebration of the Democratic party as protecting the white man, a key element of white supremacist ideology during the Gilded Age.