8 MAY/JUNE 2022PROFILESWong Kim Ark,
Face of U.S. Citizenship
Born and raised in San Francisco, California, Wong Kim Ark took his fight for his rights all the
way to the Supreme Court as nativist men tried to steal his birthright from him.I
n 1897 the 14th Amendment was bare-
ly three decades old when it was put
to the test, thanks to Wong Kim Ark.
Ratified in 1868 in the aftermath of
the Civil War, this addition to the U.S.
Constitution defines U.S. citizenship in
Section 1: “All persons born or naturalized
in the United States, and subject to the
jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the
United States and of the State wherein
they reside.” But anti-immigrant forces
challenged its straightforward language.
Wong sued for his rights under the 14th
Amendment, and his case would go all
the way to the Supreme Court.Nativist Fears
Nativist attitudes were prevalent
throughout the United States in the
19th century, and in the West they tar-
geted Chinese immigrants. California
passed a series of laws from the 1850s
through the 1870s discriminating against
Chinese residents; at the federal level,
laws were introduced trying to exclude
Chinese immigrants from entering the
country. Some even passed Congress butwere vetoed by President Rutherford B.
Hayes, who was trying to balance foreign
relations and domestic politics.
The Panic of 1873 had shifted the fed-
eral government’s balance to U.S. politics
and strengthened the power of nativists
in the West. They loudly blamed Chinese
laborers for widespread unemployment
and wage cuts. Denis Kearney and his
Workingmen’s Party of California united
behind the slogan “The Chinese Must
Go!” Chinese communities came under
serious threats of violence; 19 Chinese
people were killed in a race massacre in
Los Angeles in 1871. In San Francisco
buildings were destroyed in Chinatown
and Chinese graves desecrated.
Anti-Chinese prejudice culminated in
the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act,
which was signed into law by President
Chester Arthur in 1882. It denied natu-
ralization to Chinese immigrants already
in the United States and denied entry of
new workers from China for 10 years.
Under this law, Chinese people traveling
in or out of the United States had to carry
a certificate that identified their working
status—laborer, scholar, diplomat, or
merchant. In 1888 the Scott Act was
passed, which barred reentry to the
United States from China, even for
long-term legal residents. In 1892 the
Geary Act followed, which renewed
exclusion for 10 more years and be-
came permanent in 1902.His
American Life1898
Finding for Wong,
the Supreme Court
declares birthright
citizenship the law of
the land in the U.S.1895
U.S. officials
challenge Wong’s
citizenship while
detaining him for
months off the coast
of California. He sues.1882
The Chinese Exclusion
Act passes, which limits
Chinese immigration for
10 years and restricts
naturalization.ca 1871-
Wong Kim Ark is
born in San Francisco,
California to Chinese
immigrants, Wong Si
Ping and Wee Lee.HATEFUL AGENDA. A BROADSIDE FOR THE
WORKINGMEN’S PARTY OF CALIFORNIA STOKES
PREJUDICE AGAINST CHINESE AMERICANS IN THE 1870S.
GRANGER/AGE FOTOSTOCKWong returns to China
with his parents. He
marries and conceives a
child before returning to
the United States.1890