President Taft : An Outside Voice
From The Peopling of NYC
As the President, I feel compelled to address the issue of Chinese immigration in the United States. Firstly, I would like to commend the passing of the Chinese Exclusion Act by my predecessor, Arthur Chester in 1882. This act completely prevented Chinamen without family already in the US from entering the country, thus effectively halting all immigration. Although this act was the first of its kind and may be viewed as a departure from the traditional American policy of unrestricted immigration, the law was completely necessary, as the Chinese were jeopardizing the cultural unity of and disrupting the peace in our nation. It embodies the simple and effective solution to the dilemma-the prevention of the Chinamen from further harming the economic and social order of the country.
They settle in small communities, called Chinatowns, in virtually every major US city, isolating themselves from Americans. These foreigners are the root cause of countless anti-immigrant protests and riots all across the west, which often result in violence. They have pushed the unemployment rate up and the wages down. As economic competitors and racial inferiors, they will have only continued to destroy the structure of the American economy and of the American way of life. Their inability to assimilate is due to several reasons. They do not speak our language nor adopt our manners and habits. They have come from a peculiar civilization and are Pagan in belief. Their customs and rituals are too strange, and thus they collectively have no hope of successful assimilation into the society of the United States.
This past September of 1885 witnessed the terrible Massacre of the Chinese in Rock Springs, Wyoming. What began as a brawl between American miners and Chinese miners ended as a killing spree, killing 28 Chinamen and wounding more than a dozen. This incident is just another interaction between Americans and Chinamen that has ended with lives lost, significantly more Chinese than American. What is not apparent, but undeniably true, is that if they are excluded from America all together, horrific events such as this one would not have come to pass! This is why I hope that the American public will continue to support the banning of Chinamen from entering our country - to protect ourselves, our wives, and our children. Thank you.
