Chinese Immigration Research Project

Many people changed their attitudes towards the Chinese during WWII. WWII united China and the U.S; they had a common enemy: Japan. Many Chinese-Americans joined the military. Because at first they experienced racial prejudice, most of the Chinese-Americans were cooks. The few that actually fought were respected in the Army. Some even made it to be the Squad Leader. Because the Chinese were allies with the U.S. and the Japanese were its enemies, many stereotypical thoughts emerged. Chinese faces were said to be “kindly and honest”, and Japanese faces were said to be “cruel and arrogant”. This began an era of equality to the Chinese.

Chinese-Americans achieved great accomplishments. There were many important people. Michael Chang is a former professional tennis player. He was the youngest person to win a Grand Slam. He was also the first American to win the French Open in 34 years. Another important Chinese-American is Yo Yo Ma. He is a exceptional cellist who went to Juilliard School of Music. In addition, another Chinese-American is I. M. Pei. He is a renowned architect. He has designed the glass pyramid in from of the Louvre museum in Paris. Other buildings designed by him include the National Gallery of Art and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. Furthermore, Jerry Yang founded Yahoo!. It is now a leading Internet brand. There are countless more significant people, but it is too many to list on paper.

Chinese Americans have made an enormous impact on American society. Like many of the immigrants from other countries, the Chinese immigrants were mostly poor. However when they got here, many were detained fro years at Angel Island. Those who did manage to get to the mainland received hate and prejudice from Americans. When the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed, Chinese immigration was restricted. Some Chinese immigrants lied to the government, and said they were born in the U.S. That way, they brought their children or “paper sons” here. Even so, the children had to pass a difficult interrogation. The Chinese finally proved themselves in WWII, when they fought with the U.S. Life would be very different without the impact of Chinese-Americans.