Immigration Pull Factors

Yellow Peril There are many reasons as to why a person/ family leaves their homeland and immigrate to another country, these motivations are called push and pull factors. For the Chinese, the push factors include “hard economic conditions, partly due to high foreign taxes that bled the populace dry, land was lost due to debt, floods, starvation and Opium Wars” (Sweeney). Also some pull factors included “discovery of fold in California, prospect of working abroad temporarily, and a weak government” (Sweeney). Overall the pull factors promised economic and social prosperity, BUT for ten years, the United States had a Chinese Exclusion act of 1882, which denied labor and to the foreigners. Social forces that contributed to the laws and acts

Along with these changes in the world, America’s border enforcement also increased as well. “Legal immigration made prospects of moving more attractive...Return was not an option” (Sweeney). With Japan wanting to modernize, their people had to work and the American economic success led to many immigrants to the U.S border. Americans were scared that the immigrants brought back diseases with them; so with the “Immigration act of 1891, a permanent foundation for the federal government’s oversight of immigration began” (Markel, Stern 263). The immigrants that were deemed unfit and unhealthy were deported back to their country. Racism was still a huge part of America, specific races were made to fight against each other to keep wages low, but because the U.S did not want to look communist they allowed more races that were similar to Anglo American ways like the Jewish, Irish, and Italians. Then on December 7, 1941 a naval base at Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese to further their territory as long as they worked with Hitler. The consequence of the attack on the harbor lead to increasing anti- Japanese campaigns that escalated throughout the country. Japanese citizens, whether they were born in the U.S or immigrated here, were deemed dangerous which led them to either being deported or put into concentration camps. Although the U.S camps were not as bad the conditions were still inhumane. Although the treatment of the Japanese was cruel, I believe the treatment of the Chinese was worse. Even though the Chinese were not forced into concentration camps, at the time when they immigrated to the U.S wages were so low they could hardly afford places to live. Whereas, the Japanese were given a roof over their head with some food and