Racist Nativism, Asian American Legal History, and Pacific Islander Studies

Flashcards covering the history of U.S. immigration laws, key legal cases regarding Asian American citizenship, Pacific Islander stereotypes, and the impacts of U.S. militarism and empire.

Racist Nativism

Policies, practices, and beliefs that presume the superiority of and materially privilege “native born” (white) citizens over immigrants (of color).

Forever Foreigner

The perception that all Asians in America are immigrants, new to the country, or outsiders who do not fully belong to American Society.

Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

The first racially explicit law banning people of a specific origin from entering the U.S.; it prevented working class Chinese from entering.

Page Act of 1875

Law that effectively prevented Asian women from entering the U.S. by requiring them to go through an invasive interrogation process to prove they were “pure.”

Gentlemen’s Agreement 1907

An agreement between the U.S. and Japan that restricted Japanese laborers but allowed Japanese brides to immigrate to the U.S. and Hawaii.

Asiatic Barred Zone Act

Legislation that banned immigration from a specifically designated “Asiatic Barred Zone.”

Immigration Act of 1924

Established “national” origins quotas based on the number of immigrants already present in the U.S.

Turing’s McDuffie Act

Changed Filipino status from U.S. nationals to immigrants and created a pathway for Filipino independence in 1946.

People v. Hall

A California case establishing that Chinese/Asians are “Indian” in the eyes of the law and may not testify against whites.

United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898)

Supreme Court case that upheld birthright citizenship for non-white and non-Black individuals born in the United States.

Ozawa v. United States (1922)

Supreme Court case that denied citizenship to a Japanese person, establishing that “white person” meant Caucasian rather than just having white skin.

United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind (1923)

Case where the court rejected scientific arguments of Caucasian ancestry and applied “common sense” understanding of whiteness to deny citizenship.

Johann Blumenbach’s Theory of the 5 Races

A classification system consisting of “Ethiopian,” “Malayan,” “American,” “Mongolian,” and “Caucasian.”

Asian Semite

The argument used by George Dow in 1915 to claim he was white and eligible for citizenship based on his religious background and scientific nature.

Anti-Miscegenation Laws

Laws prohibiting whites from marrying “Negroes, Mulattoes, or Mongolians” (1880) and “Malays” (1933).

Material Gain

Benefiting economically and/or politically, which was an initial motivation for encouraging intermarriage with Native Americans and Mexicans.

Alien Land Laws

Policies stating that people ineligible for citizenship cannot own land.

Asiatic Exclusion League

An activist group formed in the 20th century to block Asian immigration and integration, originally known as the “Japanese and Korean Exclusion League.”

Executive Order 589

An order that ended the migration of Japanese and Korean laborers from Mexico, Canada, and Hawaii to the U.S.

First Wave 5

The five primary groups in the first wave of Asian American migration: Chinese, Japanese, Indians, Filipinos, and Koreans.

Coolie

A term for indentured labor derived from the Telugu word “kulī” (day laborer) and Urdu “quli” (slave); in Chinese, it means “hard labor.”

Hawaiian Bill of Rights (1839)

Established to translate Hawaiian governance into forms recognized by European and American governments.

Athlete Stereotype

The perception of Pacific Islander men as large and muscular, leading to them being steered toward athletics as a primary educational pathway.

Hula Girl Stereotype

A paradisal fantasy based on the exotification and fetishization of Pacific Islander women as sexually available for male tourists.

Disaggregation

The practice of breaking down AAPI data to reveal negative outcomes and resource needs for specific underrepresented groups.

Compact of Free Association (COFA)

A 1986/1994 agreement allowing the U.S. to operate armed forces on the lands of the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and Palau in exchange for protection.

Refugee

An individual forced to flee famine, war, or prosecution, often separated from loved ones and unable to return home.

Bravo Explosion (1954)

A nuclear test in the Marshall Islands that was $12000$ times the power of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

Critical Refugee Studies

A field that examines the history of U.S. military, economic, and political intervention in Asia, focusing on war, race, and violence.

Monroe Doctrine (1823)

U.S. policy establishing an end to colonization by European nations in the Americas and mutual non-interference between the U.S. and Europe.

Manifest Destiny

The idea that the U.S. was divinely ordained to expand its empire as a democratic and Christian nation.

Treaty of Paris (1898)

An agreement where Spanish colonies including the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico were delivered to the U.S.

DMZ (Demilitarized Zone)

A buffer zone between North and South Korea established by the Korean Armistice Agreement.

Child Citizenship Act of 2000

Law allowing foreign-born children adopted by U.S. citizens to automatically receive citizenship if they were under $18$ as of February 2001.

Executive Order 9066

A 1942 order enforcing the “exclusion” and relocation of $120000$ Japanese Americans into isolated concentration camps.

Vigilant Love

A solidarity movement between Japanese and AMEMSA (Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, South Asian) communities against Islamophobia.