As to Japanese exclusion
Subject(s): Aliens, Anarchists, Emigration and immigration, Impersonation, Japanese
Click on image to zoom in
A group of poor Eastern European immigrants and ragged anarchists, dressed in kimonos, pretend to be Japanese immigrants. They are stopped at the border. Caption: Perhaps, if they came in kimonos, the real undesirables might also be kept out.
Comments and Context
The decade of 1900-1910 — encompassing Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency — saw the highest number of immigrant arrivals, a statistic that held until recent times. Unlike earlier waves of immigrants, which were comprised mainly of Irish, Germans, and Scandinavians, this decade hosted eastern and southern Europeans, an arc from Italy to Poland and Russia.
Earlier waves of immigrants largely moved to rural areas on the continent; at this time and for various reasons many of the new arrivals congregated in cities. Economic and nativist reactions occurred, as well as social objections. Some immigrants were of radical dispositions (as in the case of German immigrants in the 1840s, refugees from their revolution) and preached anarchism. The world was concerned about anarchist movements at the time, with many attacks on royalty and prominent figures since the 1880s. In the United States, President McKinley had been assassinated by a committed anarchist in 1901.
Puck‘s comment edged toward the hyperbolic, depicting a group of newcomers as including a bomb-yielding anarchist, a stereotypical Jew, a Mafia brigand, etc. Its humorous packaging of several issues drew upon the decades-old vigorous exclusion, including by harsh laws, of Chinese and Japanese. If objectionable Europeans were clothed as Asians, cartoonist Frank A. Nankivell suggested, they too could be excluded.
Nankivell, not incidentally, was an immigrant, born in Australia and recent resident of Japan.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1907-03-13
Creator(s)
Nankivell, Frank A. (Frank Arthur), 1869-1959
Period
U.S. President – 2nd Term (March 1905-February 1909)
Repository
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
Page Count
1
Record Type
Image
Resource Type
Rights
These images are presented through a cooperative effort between the Library of Congress and Dickinson State University. No known restrictions on publication.
Citation
Cite this Record
Chicago:
As to Japanese exclusion. [March 13, 1907]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o285721. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Nankivell, Frank A. (Frank Arthur), 1869-1959. As to Japanese exclusion. [13 Mar. 1907]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 12, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o285721.
APA:
Nankivell, Frank A. (Frank Arthur), 1869-1959., [1907, March 13]. As to Japanese exclusion.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o285721.
Cite this Collection
Chicago:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 12, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs.
APA:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs.
