Why?

Why were children buying property?

In 1879, California passed a law limiting the ownership of land to aliens of “the white race or of African descent.” Asian families could only purchase land after having a native-born child, to use a citizen’s name on the title. Birthright citizenship for Chinese had to be reaffirmed in a supreme court case, United States v. Wong Kim Ark, in 1898.

Arranged Marriage

By 1880 the ratio of Chinese men to women in California was about 20:1. The Page Act of 1875 had effectively halted immigration of Chinese women to the US. Only men well off enough to pay for a bride had hope of starting a family. Along with the Chinese Exclusion Act, the scarcity of Chinese women and anti-miscegenation laws limited the number of native-born Chinese Americans. It also restricted property ownership, which was only possible for Chinese Americans born on US soil.

Immigration after 1906

The fire following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake destroyed written birth records, making it impossible for authorities to verify claims of US birthright citizenship, and therefore one’s right to enter the US. In reaction, the US established an immigration detention center on Angel Island, with prison-like conditions and rigorous testing to try to disprove entry rights to all Chinese entering the country, who may or may not have actually had any legal right to enter the US.

Why explicitly identify as Chinese?

Because westerners couldn’t tell Asians apart, during WWII, Chinese prominently displayed their identity to defend themselves against anti-Japanese hate crimes and discrimination.