Note: both were in the minority, most Northerners and Southerners still were opposed to further Chinese immigration, although they were not as “passionate” about the subject as Westerners.
Many in the North were opposing exclusion because it was discriminatory. Many in the South opposed it because they saw Chinese labor as a lucrative resource given that most Chinese laborers in the US at the time worked for very low wages. Senator Wilkinson Call of Florida and later John L. McLaurin of South Carolina all used that argument since cotton production was going down in the South. They also were wary of angering Chinese consumers because a lot of American cotton was being sold in China at the time.
Palmer had been anti-slavery advocate since Kansas-Nebraska and a Union general that enlisted black soldiers. He was also responsible for emancipation in Kentucky. He also played a role in getting Lincoln the Republican nomination in 1860.
Colquitt, on the other hand, was an ex-slaveowner and an active secessionist that signed Georgia’s Ordinance of Secession and was a Confederate general. After the war, he would soon form the “Bourbon Triumvirate” with Joseph E. Brown and John B. Gordon, which controlled the state until the 1890s.
They both voted against the Geary Act of 1892, which in addition to extending the Chinese Exclusion Act for 10 years, also added the requirement of persons of Chinese descent to possess a residency certificate at all times.
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Note: both were in the minority, most Northerners and Southerners still were opposed to further Chinese immigration, although they were not as “passionate” about the subject as Westerners.
[Here’s a crude illustration on Chinese immigrants from 1869. FYI: It’s very offensive.](https://www.loc.gov/item/2001696535/)
Many in the North were opposing exclusion because it was discriminatory. Many in the South opposed it because they saw Chinese labor as a lucrative resource given that most Chinese laborers in the US at the time worked for very low wages. Senator Wilkinson Call of Florida and later John L. McLaurin of South Carolina all used that argument since cotton production was going down in the South. They also were wary of angering Chinese consumers because a lot of American cotton was being sold in China at the time.
For the Northerner, Senator [John M. Palmer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_M._Palmer) of Illinois and the other is that of Senator [Alfred H. Colquitt](https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/government-politics/alfred-h-colquitt-1824-1894/) of Georgia.
Palmer had been anti-slavery advocate since Kansas-Nebraska and a Union general that enlisted black soldiers. He was also responsible for emancipation in Kentucky. He also played a role in getting Lincoln the Republican nomination in 1860.
Colquitt, on the other hand, was an ex-slaveowner and an active secessionist that signed Georgia’s Ordinance of Secession and was a Confederate general. After the war, he would soon form the “Bourbon Triumvirate” with Joseph E. Brown and John B. Gordon, which controlled the state until the 1890s.
They both voted against the Geary Act of 1892, which in addition to extending the Chinese Exclusion Act for 10 years, also added the requirement of persons of Chinese descent to possess a residency certificate at all times.
Full text: [https://loveman.sdsu.edu/docs/1892GearyAct.pdf](https://loveman.sdsu.edu/docs/1892GearyAct.pdf)
Early California seriously went all out with racism, which is why you won’t find any major Native American tribes there
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