Comparison of the Chinese and Africans at America

Name: Instructor: Course: Date: Comparison of the Chinese and Africans in America The book, At America's Gates by Erika Lee, was the first publication that talks about Chinese immigrants and American officials who dealt with immigration and tried to prevent them from entering the country. In the book, the author talks extensively about how the Chinese were excluded from the laws that were passed in addition to showing how being excluded from the regulations changed their lives. The immigration patterns and their identities also changed during their stay in the United States. The book has used the history of the United States as the basis for information. In doing so, the author was able to capture vital aspects of history and talk about Chinese Americans. At the time Chinese immigrated to America, rules at the border and identification of immigrants was stricter than ever before in America. The book is worth reading as Lee found a way to talk about the forgotten journey, success and hardships faced by the Chinese at the time. The essay discusses the comparisons of the Chinese and Africans in America. Racial segregation was common between the Chinese and African Americans. Jim Crow laws were used to enforce racial discrimination in South America (Tischauser & Leslie 1). These rules were enacted in the 19th and 20th century by white Democrats after the Reconstruction period (Lee 1). Since these laws promoted racial segregation, the African Americans and the Chinese were some of the victims at the time. This made it harder for these two groups to associate effortlessly with other groups. Racial segregation was also practiced in the education sector. The African Americans were not allowed to mix with the people of colour. As a result, they had their toilets, classes, and other public facilities. Slavery was such an issue in America at that time that even the President at that time; Abraham Lincoln did not know what to do. For example, he had to come up with the emancipation proclamation to make sure that the countries that did not support the Union suffered the effects. This means that the slaves in such countries would be freed. The Emancipation Proclamation was an administrative order and a presidential declaration issued in 1863, by the then President, Abraham Lincoln. The proclamation changed the legal status of the African American slaves, and they became free. This proclamation affected more than 3.5 million slaves at the time (Schwartz 597). This meant that the government would no longer control the slaves. The declaration was meant to be a war measure as the Civil War continued in America. The President had the authority to order for the release of the slaves in all the ten states in America. This is because he is the commander in chief of the armed forces and the proclamation was a constitutional authority, and Congress had not passed it as a law at the time. The declaration gave the Southern Confederates 60 days to surrender, failure to which their lands and slaves would be seized. Another aspect of the proclamation was that the suitable freed slaves could join paid services of America's forces. To add on, the Union Army was ordered to maintain the freedom of the then freed slaves. This essay shows the importance of emanci...