Opium Smoking, Anti-Chinese Attitudes, and the American Medical Community, 1850- 1890
Abstract
During the 1870s and early 1880s, members of the American medical community sought to exclude the Chinese from immigrating to the United States because these physicians believed that the Chinese opium smoking habit threatened the moral system of the country. Doctors were especially concerned about the supposed effects of opium smoking on sexual behavior, arguing that it both heightened male and female desire and endangered the nation's reproductive capacity. They also feared that opium smoking and Chinese prostitution would encourage miscegenation, and that use of the drug could ultimately harm America's socio-economic progress. The conclusions of these physicians fed into the anti-Chinese campaign that resulted in the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882.
Recommended Citation
Ahmad, D. L. (2000). Opium Smoking, Anti-Chinese Attitudes, and the American Medical Community, 1850- 1890. American Nineteenth Century History Taylor & Francis.
Department(s)
History and Political Science
Keywords and Phrases
American history
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
1466-4658
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2000 Taylor & Francis, All rights reserved.
Publication Date
01 Jan 2000
