"Chinese. . .were clear 'aliens' whose right to occupy space in the
country was completely at the mercy of American sovereignty. Blacks and
Asians could be understood. . .as capable of productive labor, this being
the ground of both fear and competition from labor groups and hope of
ultimate assimilation. Both groups were targets in intensifying racial
hostility in these years. . .[with] exclusion legislation against the
Chinese in California."
--Alan Trachtenberg, The Incorporation of America