United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898)

Case Introduction

Wong Kim Ark c. Prior to Wong's 1894 Trip to China

Identification photograph of Wong Kim Ark filed with the Immigration Service in San Francisco before his trip to China in 1894. 

In 1895, a Chinese man named Wong Kim Ark was denied re-entry to the United States and detained in the Port of San Francisco after a trip to China. The Collector of Customs who refused his re-entry claimed that even though Wong was born in the United States, he was not a U.S. citizen because he, like his parents, was a subject of the Emperor of China and could be excluded under the Chinese Exclusion Act. The case was eventually taken to the Supreme Court, which ruled that under the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, Wong Kim Ark was a citizen of the United States. By guaranteeing the right of birthright citizenship regardless of race, United States v. Wong Kim Ark expanded legal understandings of the scope of the Citizenship Clause and altered the future of citizenship in America, particularly for Asian Americans.

Throughout this exhibit, readers may encounter offensive language and ideas, including outdated racial terminology, racism, Sinophobia, and discussions of anti-Chinese violence. Reader discretion is advised.

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