Diana L. Ahmad

This is a good book on how the opium debate affected Chinese exclusion in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Ahmad argues that although economics were the primary reason for excluding Chinese immigration, the association between opium and the Chinese helped give a moral weight to prejudice against Chinese immigrants. Initially opium was limited to the Chinese immigrants, but it soon spread to the lower classes of whites in mining towns. This caused some problems for the authorities, but when opium addiction began spreading to the middle classes, it caused a public uproar. Opium would become a twin pillar (along with the Chinese taking American jobs) of the movement to exclude the Chinese.

Ahmad goes into detail on how opium got to the United States and how opium dens sprang up around the west. She details the articles and books written against opium. These writers alleged many terrible consequences for smoking the drug. In the short term, opium addiction caused an obsession with sexual pleasure. In the long term, it caused impotence. It also caused laziness and indolence. It emasculated its users, much as the Chinese were already emasculated. It was contrasted with alcohol, which was also dangerous but caused men to become more manly (aggression, fighting) rather than inducing the passivity and introspection of opium addicts.

She finishes the book by showing how stopping Chinese immigration did not stop opium addiction in the U.S. In fact, the amount of opium entering the country increased dramatically after the Chinese Exclusion Acts, even as the Chinese population in the U.S. declined. By the time opium was banned at the national level, its connection to China had faded to the background.

Ahmad does a nice job with what feels like her dissertation. She shows how opium was used as a means to push for exclusion even though economics were the real concern. She also shows that exclusion did nothing to stem the flow of opium to the United States. At times, however, she goes on sidetracks that are interesting but don't really have much to do with her arguments (like how the opium trade grew in China) so it feels like she is filling pages for her quite brief book. Nevertheless, the argument she makes is convincing, even if not revolutionary, and it is enjoyable to read.… (mehr)