Letters to the Editor Regarding the Passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

[These letters, challenging the 1882 passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act, are one of the writing projects Slavic teens at Azbuka Academy did when learning about the Chinese experience in the American West.]

I

Dear Editor,

My name is Sara, and I want to argue about the statements in the newspaper. I think that the statement about no more Chinese people allowed to immigrate to the U.S. is wrong. I have a family in China and I want to see them. I think that it is not fair at all. Chinese people are like everyone else. Please rethink it and allow people to immigrate.

II

Dear Editor,

My name is Jane Williams and I'm from London. I heard about the Chinese Exclusion Act and I'm against it. I think it's not fair that Chinese people have to work harder than everyone and that some of the women have to be prostitutes to get money. I think it's horrible that men can be stoned and attacked at any time. I think the Chinese are the same kind of people as us. I would hate for the law to pass. I will do everything to help for it not to.

III

Dear Editor,

My name is Sveta Green. I live in Moscow and I disagree with the Chinese Exclusion Act because it is very harsh that the Chinese people can't be citizens of the United States of America. I think people are equal and should have the same privileges.

IV

Dear citizens of the USA,

My name is Tanya and I am from Russia. I think the Chinese Exclusion Act is not fair. It's unjust for the Americans to take away the right to move here from China. Please try to think about it, try to place yourself in their place. How would you like to be separated from your family or not be able to marry a girl from your community? The Chinese are doing dangerous jobs for us and we are trying to separate them from their families.

V

To the editor:

I disagree with this law, because the Chinese are people and they have families and friends. The government shouldn't use these men as a cheap labor force; it is discrimination. This is a form of discrimination on the part of the American government.

- by students of Azbuka Academy, Portland, Oregon