Institutional Racism

actions. He wrote that "a mob is a mob, whether made up of Government officials acting
under instructions from the Department of Justice or of criminals and loafers and the
vicious classes." His decision effectively prevented any renewal of the raids.
In Montana, copper miners were dissatisfied with the Western Federation of Miners and
thus clashes between the miners were formed leading to the detainment of many
workers in the field. The US District Court Judge George M. Bourquin, wrote in a
decision granting a writ releasing them on February 12, 1920, "The Declaration of
Independence, the writings of the Fathers of our Country, the Revolution, the
Constitution and the Union, all were inspired to overthrow the like governmental tyranny.
They are yet living, vital, potential forces to safeguard all domiciled in the country, aliens
as well as citizens. If evidence of the alien's evil advocacy and teaching is so wanting
that it exists in only that herein, and as secured herein, he is a far less danger to this
country that are the parties who in violation of law and order, of humanity and justice,
have brought him to deportation. They are the spirit of intolerance incarnate, and the
most alarming manifestation in America today." In so saying, he placed the blame for
the actions taken squarely on those creating a hysteria against a primarily Russian
ethnic minority, and who managed to sidestep all blame by continuing to call such
actions lawful. Hoover went on to head the FBI, which over its history also came to be
known for the institutional racism of the COINTELPRO, Martin Luther King Jr. and
Malcolm X operations and Palmer lost all support for his bid seeking the Democratic
presidential nomination to replace Wilson. The judge summed it up neatly; "Thoughtful
men who love this country and its institutions see more danger in them and in their
practices and the government by hysteria they stimulate, than in the miserable, hated
"Reds" that are the ostensible occasion of them all. Those people may confidently
assume that even as the "Reds," they too in due time will pass, and the nation still lives.
It is for the courts to deal with both, to hold both in check when brought within the
jurisdiction." Zechariah Chafee went on to write many significant works about civil
liberties. His first book, Freedom of Speech, established modern First Amendment
theory.
In Immigration
The previous sections talk about institutional racism against black people or
communities; however, Eastern and Southern Europeans who were white at various
times were discriminated against. Many other minorities also suffered from institutional
racism. One example is immigration policies against Chinese. The intensified job
competition during the 1870s on the West Coast between Chinese workers and Whites
invoked anti-Chinese movement. The first Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was passed to
prohibit Chinese immigrating to the United States, resulting in only 10 Chinese
immigrants into the U.S. in 1887. The labor shortage after the decline of Chinese
immigrant labor proved the fact of White racism. For more information, see History of
Chinese Americans. There were other anti-immigration policies in history against
France and Ireland in the late 1700s (see Opposition to immigration), Southern
Europeans, Eastern Europeans, Jews, Africans, Arabs, East Asians, and Indians (see
Immigration Act of 1924). Anti-immigration sentiment can also affect minorities who
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