HISTORY

Today in Chinese American History - February 18, 1943

On this day, Madame Chiang Kai Shek delivered a heart moving speech to a joint session of Congress. She was the first Chinese woman, and only the second woman to address Congress.

In the winter of 1942, President Roosevelt invited Madame Chiang to visit the United States to represent her husband, the President of the Republic of China, and rally support against Japan. Next spring, she returned to the United States, again to give a voice to the Chinese struggle. A Wellesley College educated woman who spoke fluent English with a slight southern drawl, she captivated reporters and the American public. Tens of thousands gathered as she made her way through New York, Wellesley, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Even the country’s most skeptical congressmen were swayed by Madame Chiang’s charm when she addressed the joint session, asking for stronger US support and the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act that had barred Chinese laborers from entering the United States since 1882 and forced Chinese already in the country to prove they were allowed to remain. Her impassioned speech garnered a standing ovation. The following day, President Roosevelt promised more US support. Senator Warren Magnuson, greatly moved by her eloquent speech, introduced a bill to repeal the Chinese Exclusion Act.

The repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act only allowed an annual 105 Chinese into the country; far below the numbers allowed for other immigrant groups. Nevertheless, the Magnuson Act was the first step in changing decades of official discrimination against the Chinese. Madame Chiang’s speech to Congress became an inspiration for all women while presenting a charismatic and human face of the Chinese people to the American public.