At America's Gates: Chinese Immigration during the Exclusion Era, 1882-1943

by Erika Lee

Overview

With the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, Chinese laborers became the first group in American history to be excluded from the United States on the basis of their race and class. This landmark law changed the course of U.S. immigration history, but we know little about its consequences for the Chinese in America or for the United States as a nation of immigrants.

At America's Gates is the first book devoted entirely to both Chinese immigrants and the American immigration officials who sought to keep them out. Erika Lee explores how Chinese exclusion laws not only transformed Chinese American lives, immigration patterns, identities, and families but also recast the United States into a "gatekeeping nation." Immigrant identification, border enforcement, surveillance, and deportation policies were extended far beyond any controls that had existed in the United States before.

Drawing on a rich trove of historical sources--including recently released immigration records, oral histories, interviews, and letters--Lee brings alive the forgotten journeys, secrets, hardships, and triumphs of Chinese immigrants. Her timely book exposes the legacy of Chinese exclusion in current American immigration control and race relations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807863138
Publisher:	The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date:	01/21/2004
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Erika Lee is associate professor of history at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

The author's openness and sensitivity to the inherent problems and flaws with the government records of the Chinese immigrants . . . demonstrates her seriousness and carefulness as a scholar, and her skillful dissecting of a body of enormously complicated materials makes the book a remarkable historical study. With its elegant style and clear language, this book can be appreciated not only by scholars and graduate and undergraduate students but also by the general public.—Journal of American History



Scholarly substance wrapped up in . . . a well organized and clearly written package . . . The single most useful book on the history of Chinese exclusion. . . . The strongest, best grounded, and most persuasive assessment of the long historical shadow Chinese exclusion has cast over the development of American immigration policy. It deserves a wide readership.—Journal of Social History



Extensively researched. . . . [At America's Gate: Chinese Immigration during the Exclusion Era, 1882-1943] is helpful when trying to understand our government's complicated laws regarding immigration: encouraging foreigners to immigrate when their services are needed and excluding them when it seems appropriate.—Journal of the West



The book, eloquently written with rich original materials, contributes to the existing literature on United States immigration history and Asian American studies, and challenges scholars to see a significant connection between Chinese exclusion and the United States as a gate-keeping nation.—Journal of American Ethnic History



A compelling, readable narrative.—Law and History Review



Lee has authored a masterful book, well written and based on extensive research in both English and Chinese sources.—American Historical Review



At America's Gates is the strongest, best grounded, and most persuasive assessment of the long historical shadow Chinese exclusion has cast over the development of American immigration policy.—Journal of Social History



The book deepens and integrates our knowledge of the linkages between racist ideologies and national legislation, local politics, and the growth of federal bureaucracies. It is a model of scholarship that will impel topical discussions and policy debates among students and scholars alike.—The International History Review



Lee's book is an important study on Chinese exclusion and its importance for nation building and US immigration policy. . . . Lee's careful archival work and mastery of relevant literature is evident, and her study is especially poignant because of its tie to her family's history. This is an impressive and sophisticated [book].—Choice



Well documented, well researched, and highly readable.—New York History

Editorial Reviews

"Lee has authored a masterful book, well written and based on extensive research in both English and Chinese sources."
-- "American Historical Review"

"Makes a very significant contribution to both Asian American history and to U.S. immigration history. The amount of research that went into this book is prodigious."
-- Sucheng Chan, University of California, Santa Barbara

Makes a very significant contribution to both Asian American history and to U.S. immigration history. The amount of research that went into this book is prodigious. (Sucheng Chan, University of California, Santa Barbara)

"Lee addresses a multiplicity of issues and deftly weaves together several themes that, in the past, had been treated separately."

From the Publisher