The first Chinese entered California in 1848, and within a few years, thousands more came, lured by the promise of Gam Sann or “Gold Mountain”. Soon, discriminatory legislation forced them out of the gold fields and into low-paying, menial jobs. They laid tracks for the Central Pacific Railroad, reclaimed swamp land in the Sacramento delta, developed shrimp and abalone fisheries, and provided cheap labor wherever there was work no other group wanted or needed.
During the 1870s, an economic downturn resulted in serious unemployment problems and led to politically motivated outcries against immigrants who would work for low wages. In reaction to states starting to pass immigration laws, the federal government asserted its authority to control immigration and passed the first immigration law in 1882. The Exclusion Acts, a series of restrictive laws prohibiting immigration, specifically targeted Chinese immigrants. Subsequent immigration laws were eventually consolidated under the Immigration Act of 1924, effecting certain nationalities and social classes of Asian immigrants.
Surrounded by public controversy from its inception, the station was finally put into operation in 1910. Immigrants arrived from approximately 84 different countries, with Chinese immigrants constituting the single largest ethnic group entering at San Francisco until 1915, when Japanese outnumbered the Chinese for the first time. Widely known as the “Ellis Island of the West” the station differed from Ellis Island in one important respect – the majority of immigrants processed on Angel Island were from Asian countries, specifically China, Japan, Russia and South Asia (in that order). Dubbed as the “Guardian of the Western Gate,” by its staff, this facility was built to help keep Chinese and eventually other Asian immigrants out of the country
Washington gives this as the Confederation's reaction based on the past government that hasn't been responsive to the people which are slow and has a different purpose. He was citing that this is from one point of view could be better than the present has to offer.
Washington was trying to let the Confederation see the possibilities that the new type of government that is being introduced would also experience problems before it can be finally settled. He also gave a further situation where he could not see the success of this, instead of a rebellion from the changes that would come.
The constitution adopted by the Republic of Texas was influenced by Spanish and Mexican law, especially in its inclusion of community property provisions, homestead exemptions and protections, and debtor relief.
