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Home » researchweek » poster-session » archive » history » The East Asian Question: American Eugenics and Immigration Reform

The East Asian Question: American Eugenics and Immigration Reform

Alexander David Wallis

In this research I will seek to understand how American eugenicists between roughly 1900 to the 1930s defined East Asians and how this definition influenced The United States’ East Asian immigration policy during and after this period.
How did these men define race? What did they really seek to accomplish through their work and how did they go about implementing their ideals in the world around them? These are the main questions I am determined to research and hopefully answer in a detailed analysis.

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Comments

Very interesting research — thank you for sharing your work. Very timely, too. I wonder what learning about the role of the eugenicists in the 1924 act tells us about today’s immigration law debates. —Jeanette Herman

As someone unfamiliar with this topic, I’m wondering what role the eugenicists played in pass the 1924 Immigration Act — how exactly did they exert influence? Were they called as experts for testimony? Did they help write the law? —Rob Reichle