The U.S. Department of State has an Office of Historian. I consult this site periodically for what I hope is a factual and objective history of an event— in this case, the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1943.
I came upon this sad and disquieting “Note to Readers.”
Milestones in the History of U.S. Foreign Relations
NOTE TO READERS
This publication, “Milestones in the History of U.S. Foreign Relations,” has been retired. The text remains online for reference purposes, but it is no longer being maintained or expanded.
Notice posted on May 9, 2017.
To verify, see https://history.state.gov/milestones.
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Why is this bad? As materials are declassified, they provide insights into our government’s past dealings.
As citizens and taxpayers in a democracy, we’re entitled to know our government’s telling of history.
In the Office of Historian’s, “Repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act, 1943,” there is an informative and unflattering story of American policy:
“More controversial than repeal was the proposal to go one step further and place the Chinese on a quota basis for future entry to the United States. By finally applying the formulas created in the 1924 Immigration Act, the total annual quota for Chinese immigrants to the United States (calculated as a percentage of the total population of people of Chinese origin living in the United States in 1920) would be around 105. In light of the overall immigration to the United States, at first glance the new quota seemed insignificant. Yet, those concerned about an onslaught of Chinese (or Asian) immigration and its potential impact on American society and racial composition believed that even this small quota represented an opening wedge through which potentially thousands of Chinese could enter the United States.”
Now that the Historian is not posting new material, will the Office start to take down historical materials?
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