Records of Exclusion: Chinese Immigration in Historical Perspective

Abstract

This dissertation re-centers the historical Chinese experience in the study of racial formation and immigration policy in the United States. The first major non-white immigrant group in the United States, Chinese communities in Western states were targeted by restrictive policies and violent backlash. Increasingly restrictive federal immigration policies culminated in the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act which laid the groundwork for the contemporary U.S. immigration system. Despite their relevance to important socioeconomic trends and political developments, historical Chinese immigrants have been largely excluded from quantitative social science research. My dissertation attempts to remedy this longstanding omission. Chapter 1 introduces the historical facts and social importance of the Chinese case. Chapter 2 investigates pat- terns of residential segregation in pre-Exclusion California, demonstrating the importance of place in Chinese residential clustering. Chapter 3 – joint with Beth-Lew Williams – develops a database and typology of primary-source state and local policies targeting Chinese immigrants. Chapter 4 proposes a novel pre-processing technique to improve record linkage rates for historical Chinese populations. Chapter 5 concludes and outlines avenues of future research.