The Wasp — 1879 — page 56: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This January 25, 1879 *Wasp* cartoon satirizes anti-Chinese sentiment during California's acute labor tensions. The illustration shows a military officer (likely representing government authority) confronting aggressive, demonic-looking Chinese figures emerging from burning grass/wheat. The title questions who will forcibly remove Chinese immigrants from America. The cartoon reflects the severe anti-Chinese hysteria of late-1870s San Francisco, when working-class whites blamed Chinese laborers for economic hardship and job competition. The demonic, exaggerated caricatures exemplify the racist imagery common to this period. The military figure suggests debates over whether government should enforce Chinese exclusion through force. This represents the inflammatory propaganda preceding the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, America's first major restrictive immigration law.