Asiatic Exclusion League
| Predecessor | Japanese and Korean Exclusion League (1905–1907) |
|---|---|
| Formation | May 14, 1905 1907 (Canada) |
| Founder | Patrick Henry McCarthy, Andrew Furuseth, Walter McCarthy et al. |
| Purpose | Advocate for the prevention of immigration of people of Asian origin to the United States and Canada |
The Asiatic Exclusion League, often abbreviated AEL, was an organization formed in the early twentieth century in the United States and Canada that aimed to prevent immigration of people of Asian origin.
In May 1905, a mass meeting was held in San Francisco, California to launch the Japanese and Korean Exclusion League. Among those attending the first meeting were labor leaders and European immigrants, Patrick Henry McCarthy of the Building Trades Council of San Francisco, Andrew Furuseth, and Walter McCarthy of the International Seamen's Union. Following the first meeting the San Francisco Chronicle, published a picture of laborers who collected the meeting saying: “Some present owned their own little homes; while a majority know what it is to sit with the good wife of an evening, figure on approaching rent day and make up the cash on hand to see if there is enough to carry the family over to the next day.” The San Francisco Chronicle also mentioned of resilience coming from the men attending the meeting, angrily ranting against the foreign men who were preventing them from owning homes and achieving a middle class life. In December 1907, the organization was renamed the Asiatic Exclusion League to include the exclusion of South Asians and Chinese immigrants in their agenda. Advocating for the “white man’s country” and the prohibition of Asian labor immigration, the AEL set up branches across the Pacific coast of North America, achieving transnational status and cross-border labor organization. Once the league was started they immediately began working to prevent any increase of Asians along the Western coastlines. The league used strong-armed methods and violent forces against Asians to try to ensure the rigorous enforcement of the Chinese Exclusion Act and expand its provisions to other Asian immigrants. Asiatic Exclusion Act carried-out by definition to the struggle against Japanese laborers, seeing larger threats at every corner, or so it would seem. They moved quickly to broaden their goals and aimed to prevent immigration of all people of Eastern Asian origin. Their collective aims were to spread false anti- Asian information and to sway legislation towards restricting immigration. In response to their efforts General Ulysses S. Webb, Attorney General for the state of California began to apply a markedly greater effort into enforcing laws that prohibit Asian ownership of property.
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