Primary Source, Activity, Lesson Plan Asian American History in ELA: Cross-Curricular Approaches to AAPI Studies
- Grade Level 9th-12th Grade
- Date Published Nov 2025
- Time Period Late 1800s
Introduction
This lesson reviews the historical background of Chinese immigration and labor and the role of Chinese labor in relation to various groups during the late 1800s. With this resources students will analyze 3 primary sources that represent the views of at least 3 different groups: Black / White politicians, Black / White News Media, Black / White Labor Union Organizers, Former Abolitionists, Chinese Business Leaders
Materials also include:
Learning Objectives:
- Determining the messages of political cartoons, advertisements, newspaper articles, and legal documents addressing the same topic.
- Examining how authors make choices to persuade their audience and shape public opinion
- Drawing conclusions and constructing written arguments supported by evidence from multiple sources
- Examining the relationships between historical events; determining cause and effect to analyze connections
- Exploring factors that bias an author’s opinion and engaging with diverse perspectives on the same topic
Essential Questions
What claims about race and appeals to racial hierarchies were made in the arguments for and against Chinese immigration and labor in the late 1800s?
How was Chinese labor in the U.S. South portrayed as different or similar to the pre-Emancipation system of slavery?
How were Chinese laborers perceived as replacing, displacing, or competing with white and Black laborers?
How did Black, white, and Chinese people describe Chinese labor and citizenship, and what do these similarities and differences reveal about various groups’ economic and political concerns after the Civil War?