22 LEWD CHINESE WOMEN: CHY LUNG V. FREEMAN

TIMELINE

Circa 1820 Chinese begin immigrating to the United States.
1848 California Gold Rush begins; approximately 325 Chinese (all men) are residing in the United States.
1852 More than 20,000 Chinese arrive in San Francisco; California passes laws targeting the Chinese, including one statute imposing a tax on foreign miners and another authorizing immigration officials to require ship owners to post indemnity bonds for foreign passengers arriving in the state.
1868 Burlingame Treaty is signed, establishing formal relations between China and the United States.
1870 California legislature passes a law entitled “An Act to Prevent the Kidnapping and Importation of Mongolian, Chinese and Japanese Females for Criminal and Demoralizing Purposes”; under the law, which is amended in subsequent years, state immigration officials are authorized to require bonds for certain passengers to disembark.
AUGUST 24, 1874 Steamship Japan arrives in port of San Francisco; 22 female Chinese passengers are detained pursuant to the California statute.
August 25, 1874 Petition for a writ of habeas corpus is filed in the District Court for the 4th Judicial District in San Francisco, in In re Chy Lung.
August 26, 1874 Testimony commences in In re Chy Lung before Judge Morrison.
August 29, 1874 Judge Morrison denies the petition and remands the 22 women to the Captain of the Japan, to be returned to China.
September 7, 1874 Supreme Court of California affirms Judge Morrison’s decision, in Ex Parte Ah Fook, 49 Cal. 402 (1874).
1875 Congress passes the Page Act — the first federal statute restricting immigration into the United States, which targets certain immigrants from “China, Japan, or any Oriental country,” including “women for the purposes of prostitution”.
March 20, 1876 United States Supreme Court rules in Chy Lung v. Freeman, 92 U.S. 275 (1876), holding in favor of the Chinese women.
1882 Congress passes the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.
1892 Congress passes Geary Act, renewing Chinese Exclusion Act for ten years.
1902 Chinese Exclusion Act is made permanent.
1943 Congress repeals Chinese Exclusion Act.
June 18, 2012 House of Representatives passes House Resolution 683 expressing regret for the passage of legislation adversely affecting people of Chinese origin in the United States because of their ethnicity.
June 25, 2012 United States Supreme Court decides Arizona v. United States, 132 S. Ct. 2492 (2012).

Cast

Script Excerpt

Timeline

Additional Resources

Prior Performances

Discussion Questions