1885 Chinese expulsion from Eureka

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1885 Chinese expulsion from Eureka
Eureka Chinatown 1885.jpg
Eureka Chinatown 1885
Location Eureka, California
DateFebruary 7, 1885
Attack type
ethnic cleansing
VictimsEureka Chinese
PerpetratorsEureka city government
Motive Sinophobia, racial discrimination
Eureka Chinatown laundry Eureka Chinatown laundry 1885.jpg
Eureka Chinatown laundry

1885 Chinese expulsion from Eureka was an ethnic cleansing event that took place in Eureka, California on February 7, 1885. [1]

Contents

Background

Anti-Chinese sentiment in the United States had been rising since mid-19th century. Numerous anti-Chinese riots broke out in the west, including California. The San Francisco riot of 1877 led to the formation of the Workingmen's Party of California that same year; its slogan "The Chinese must go!" served to further incite resentment toward Chinese immigrants. The growing sinophobia was reflected in 1882 when the United States Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, ceasing Chinese immigration. [2]

In the Humboldt Bay area, the logging industry drew Chinese laborers, who formed a Chinatown in Eureka around Fourth and E streets. By 1880 the Chinese population in Eureka was reported to be 96. [3]

Expulsion

On the evening of February 6, 1885, around 6 pm, Eureka City Councilman David Kendall was caught in the crossfire of two rival Chinese gangs and killed. Two hundred feet from Chinatown was Centennial Hall (built a decade before to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence), where a crowd of over 600 whites gathered and decided to evict the Chinese. [4]

Next day, February 7, city resolutions were passed stipulating that "all Chinamen be expelled from the city and that none be allowed to return." [5]

A Committee of Fifteen organized the systemic deportation of virtually all 480 Chinese residents aboard two steamships to San Francisco; only a few Chinese managed to stay within the county. [6]

Amazingly, no fatalities occurred during the expulsion, but Chinatown was demolished, with nothing left behind. [3] To this day, there are few Asians in Humboldt County. [7]

Aftermath

This "peaceful" method of expelling Chinese was touted as The Eureka Method (or Eureka Plan), and served as a model for Chinese expulsions in other California cities, including Crescent City (1885), Arcata (1886), Ferndale (1906), as well as other towns along the west coast such as Tacoma, Washington (1885). [5] [3]

In 1886 the San Francisco Chinese Six Companies sued the city of Eureka in Wing Hing vs. Eureka, demanding reparations and financial compensation as a consequence of the expulsion, but the case was dropped since the Chinese could not own land, they had lost no property. [6] [4] [8]

In 1890, the Humboldt County business directory boasted it is "The Only County in the State Containing No Chinamen". [7] [9] [10]

Exclusion of Chinese and other Asians in Eureka continued well into the 20th century. In 1941, the Eureka City Council revised its charter: [11]

Sec. 190 No Chinese shall ever be employed, either directly or indirectly on any work of the city, or in the performance of any contract or sub-contract of the city, except in punishment of a crime. Nor shall any provisions, supplies, materials, or articles of Chinese manufacture or production ever be use or purchased by or furnished to the city.

This section was not removed from Eureka's charter until 1959. [12]

Related Research Articles

In the broader context of racism in the United States, mass racial violence in the United States consists of ethnic conflicts and race riots, along with such events as:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinese Exclusion Act</span> American federal law enacted in 1882

The Chinese Exclusion Act was a United States federal law signed by President Chester A. Arthur on May 6, 1882, prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers for 10 years. The law made exceptions for merchants, teachers, students, travelers, and diplomats. The Chinese Exclusion Act was the first major U.S. law ever implemented to prevent all members of a specific national group from immigrating to the United States, and therefore helped shape twentieth-century race-based immigration policy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinatown, San Francisco</span> Neighborhood in California, United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aaron A. Sargent</span> American journalist, lawyer, politician and diplomat

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinese American Citizens Alliance</span>

Chinese American Citizens Alliance (C.A.C.A.) is a Chinese American fraternal, benevolent non-profit organization founded in 1895 in San Francisco, California to secure equal rights for Americans of Chinese ancestry and to better the welfare of their communities. C.A.C.A. is the United States' oldest Asian American civil rights organization.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock Springs massacre</span> 1885 killing of Chinese people in Wyoming

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The Tacoma riot of 1885, also known as the 1885 Chinese expulsion from Tacoma, involved the forceful expulsion of the Chinese population from Tacoma, Washington Territory, on November 3, 1885. City leaders had earlier proposed a November 1 deadline for the Chinese population to leave the city. On November 3, 1885, a mob that consisted of prominent businessmen, police, and political leaders descended on the Chinese community. The mob marched Chinese residents to a railroad station and forced them to board a train to Portland. In the following days, the structures that remained in the Chinese community were razed. The event was the result of growing anti-Chinese sentiment and violence throughout the American West.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seattle riot of 1886</span> Anti-Chinese lynchings

The Seattle riot of 1886 occurred on February 6–9, 1886, in Seattle, Washington, amidst rising anti-Chinese sentiment caused by intense labor competition and in the context of an ongoing struggle between labor and capital in the Western United States. The dispute arose when a mob affiliated with a local Knights of Labor chapter formed small committees to carry out a forcible expulsion of all Chinese from the city. Violence erupted between the Knights of Labor rioters and federal troops ordered in by President Grover Cleveland. The incident resulted in the removal of over 200 Chinese civilians from Seattle and left two militia men and three rioters seriously injured.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Act (1888)</span>

The Scott Act was a United States law that prohibited U.S. resident Chinese laborers from returning to the United States. Its main author was William Lawrence Scott of Pennsylvania, and it was signed into law by U.S. President Grover Cleveland on October 1, 1888. It was introduced to expand upon the Chinese Exclusion Act passed in 1882 and left an estimated 20,000-30,000 Chinese outside the United States at the time of its passage stranded, with no option to return to their U.S. residence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinatowns in the United States</span> Ethnic Chinese enclaves in the United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Francisco riot of 1877</span> Pogrom targeting Chinese immigrants

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Chinese Americans in Seattle</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uncle Sam Kicks Out Chinaman</span>

The George Dee Magic Washing Machine Company commissioned Uncle Sam Kicks Out The Chinaman in 1886. Published in Chicago by Shober & Carqueville Lithograph Co. the cartoon depicts patriotic symbol Uncle Sam kicking out the Chinese in order to promote The George Dee Magic Washing Machine Company's new detergent in an effort to displace Chinese laundry operators. Above the borders of the image an advertisement in the lithograph reads:

To Whom It May Concern: This is a Liquid Washing Compound, and is FULLY GUARANTEED BETTER THAN ANYTHING EVER OFFERED TO THE PUBLIC; its constant use will not injure the cloths nor turn them yellow. For sale by the Gallon, Half-Gallon and Quart. TRY A SAMPLE AND BE SURPRISED.

References

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  2. "An act to execute certain treaty stipulations relating to the Chinese". National Archive. General Records of the United States Government. May 6, 1882.
  3. 1 2 3 Yang, Yang (April 20, 2011). "Island Of Strangers". Anderson Valley Advertiser. The Boontling Greeley Sheet.
  4. 1 2 LaBelle, Matthew. "The Expulsion of the Chinese from Humboldt County".
  5. 1 2 Pfaelzer, Jean (August 2008). Driven out: the forgotten war against Chinese Americans. University of California Press. p. 400. ISBN   9780520256941.
  6. 1 2 "Immigration, Expulsion, Homecoming The Legacy of the Chinese Expulsion in Humboldt County". Clarke Historical Museum.
  7. 1 2 Easthouse, K. (February 27, 2003). "The Chinese Expulsion".
  8. Lanzendorfer, Joy (February 2019). "I Saw My Countrymen Marched Out of Tacoma". Longreads.
  9. Kemp, Kym (October 23, 2020). "ODD OLD NEWS: THE 1906 CHINESE EXPULSION".
  10. Hamm, Lillie E. (November 1890). "History and Business Directory of Humboldt County Descriptive of the Natural Resources, Delightful Climate, Picturesque Scenery, Beautiful Homes. The Only County in the State Containing No Chinamen". Downtown Brown Books.
  11. Oliner, Samual P.; Krause, Jerrald D. (2001). "RACIAL AND ETHNIC ATTITUDES IN RURAL AMERICA: Focus on Humboldt County, California". Humboldt Journal of Social Relations. 26 (1/2): 11–55. JSTOR   23263404.
  12. Perry, Ronald J. (May 2005). Wipe Out The Plague Spots: The Expulsion of the Chinese From Humboldt County (PDF). Humboldt State University.