Immigration and the Enforcement of Race

Please answer the following question in a short essay (1.5 to 2 typed, double-spaced pages). Use Times New Roman, 12-point Font QUESTION What common “pillars of whiteness” did Immigration Bureau officials and agents use to restrict immigration to Chinese and “perverse” immigrants? Sources Erika Lee, At America’s Gate, Chapter 2 (October 15) and Margot Canaday, The Straight State chapter 1 (October 17) Note: Your answer needs to both names a pillar and show a specific actions or laws that were used to uphold that “pillar” and restrict immigration of the two groups. The pillar must be common. However, the action or law will likely be different. So it is important first to recognize how they were being treated similarly. Sample Thesis: Immigration bureau agents viewed Chinese and “perverse” immigrants as incapable of achieving whiteness and, therefore, being good citizens, because they could not x, y, z. FORMAT FOR YOUR RESPONSE ESSAY The essay should begin with a very short introduction (about 2-4 sentences) that announces your overall thesis. Then the essay should contain about three supporting paragraphs. Each paragraph should begin with a topic sentence that announces the paragraph’s supporting argument. In other words, the topic sentence should be a mini-thesis statement that supports your overall thesis. Then, in the supporting paragraphs, supply evidence from the reading assignment to support your paragraph’s mini-thesis. Aim to cover a wide range of different sources from the reading. Because this is such a short assignment, you do not need a conclusion paragraph. You can just end with your last supporting paragraph. Do not go over two pages. In outline form, the essay should look like this: -Intro (2-4 sentences, with thesis statement that answers the assigned question) -Supporting paragraph #1 (with topic sentence at start, giving mini-thesis for paragraph) -Supporting paragraph #2 (same) -Supporting paragraph #3 (same) For evidence in your supporting paragraphs, incorporate as manybrief quotations as you can from the reading, especially from the primary sources. Do not rely on long quotations that take up too much space. Instead, try to quote just the most interesting snippets of the primary sources. Choose just the most revealing four or five words from a primary-source passage and build your ideas around it. Citations: Do not worry about a bibliography or about formal footnotes or endnotes for these brief response essays. At the end of a sentence with quoted material or specific information, just provide a brief parenthetical citation. For individual sections in this reading use common sense abbreviations: for example, for Erika Lee, At America’s Gate” (Lee, 78).