History of Chinese Americans in the Pacific Northwest

Last updated

Chinese Americans in the Pacific Northwest have been around since as early as the 1850s. Chinese Americans arrived in the Greater Seattle area in as early as 1851. Oregon had also seen an influx of Chinese Immigrants as early as 1851, because of mining opportunities. Idaho saw an influx of Chinese Immigrants in the late-19th century, and by 1870 saw a population of around 4,000 Chinese immigrants. [1] The influx of Chinese immigrants in the Pacific Northwest and the rest of the Western United States led to retaliation by whites, leading to anti-Chinese sentiment in the United States. These sentiment then led to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which expelled many Chinese Americans in the Pacific Northwest. Chinese exclusion is also driven by the failure of restriction. The United States had passed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 [2] to slow immigration, and mend Sinophobia in the west. However, the enforcement of the exclusion act was lackluster. The United States Department of Treasury had found itself with no money to enforce this law. Thus, nullifying the purpose of the exclusion act. Additionally, under the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, Chinese people could migrate to the United States if they were return immigrants. Consequently, Chinese immigrants began claiming that they were return immigrants so that they could work in the United States. This also made the Chinese Exclusion Act 1882 useless. [3] This led the United States government to pass the Scott Act of 1888. [4] This excluded all Chinese immigration because it was cheaper, and it appeased the racial tensions in the west.

Contents

Oregon

History

In the mid-1850s when finding gold in California became harder, many Chinese immigrants moved to new territories. The Chinese first migrated to southern Oregon but then moved to eastern Oregon after hostilities forced them to move. [5] Between 1855 and 1865, the majority of Chinese immigrants in Oregon were miners with some being merchants. 1865 to 1885 saw an influx of Chinese immigrants arrive to Oregon. As their population increased, interest in different economic opportunities also increased, such as jobs in commercial agriculture, salmon canneries, railroad construction, domestic service, and service work. [6] By 1870, the population of Chinese in Oregon was 3,330. This would continue to grow and would be at 10,370 by the 1900s. [6]

Anti-Chinese sentiments

Anti-Chinese sentiments in Oregon developed as early as 1857, where EuroAmericans adopted similar discriminatory laws against Chinese miners to that of California and Nevada. [5] Chinese miners also had to pay a $50 yearly tax to the Government of Oregon and although they paid taxes, Chinese were prohibited from voting. [5] Article XV, Section 8 of the Oregon Constitution stated that "No Chinaman, not a resident of the state at the adoption of this constitution, shall ever hold any real estate or mining claim, or work any mining claim therein." [7] In 1882, the United States government passed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. Together with the Exclusion Act, Oregon also banned interracial marriage. Chinese were also banned from attending in public schools, entering professions, and were discriminated against in housing. [6]

Additionally, Anti-Chinese sentiments were encouraged by unions in the pacific northwest. The Knights of Labor encouraged racial hegemony by enforcing a white only workforce. [8] Essentially, Chinese laborers were often subject of scrutiny because they were hired as union breakers. Whenever a company felt that the union workers were making too much, they simply opted to hire Chinese workers for cheaper labor. This led to Sinophobic sentiments in the Pacific Northwest that was notoriously led by the Knights of Labor. [9]

During the exclusion era, most of the Chinese in Oregon lived in Portland, where they lived in their own communities, most in the west bank of the Willamette River. Many of the Chinese were not allowed to live beyond their own communities except as live-in domestics. [6] These Anti-Chinese discriminatory laws highly affected the Chinese population in Oregon, decreasing its numbers to 2,102 by 1950. [6]

Washington

History

Like in Oregon, Chinese migrated to Washington territory as early as the 1850s. The discovery of gold in the rivers of Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia prompted many Chinese to migrate to the Pacific Northwest. Washington saw a large increase in Chinese population in its territory. According to the U.S. Census in 1870, there were only 234 Chinese in the territory. [10] By 1880, there were around 4,000 Chinese immigrants in Washington territory. [11] Chinese immigrants first started as domestic servants and service workers (cooks, laundry men). Chinese immigrants nearly doubled the number of white miners in eastern Washington. Nearly 17,000 Chinese also helped build the Northern Pacific Railroad transcontinental line in Washington State. [10]

Anti-Chinese sentiments

There was a large Anti-Chinese sentiment in Washington during the early years of it being a territory and its statehood. Like in California, Chinese faced many discriminatory laws in Washington such as special taxes, prohibition against marrying whites, and owning land. [11] Many whites viewed Chinese laborers as employment competitors. Even with the passing of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, many Chinese laborers stayed in Washington. Because of this, many whites took this problem into their own hands.

Outbreak in Tacoma, 1885

Tacoma had a large population of Chinese immigrants in late 1800s. Earlier signs of an outbreak was accentuated in 1884, when a water company hired Chinese workers to lay pipe. [12] The outbreak would occur on November 3, 1885. The Tacoma chapter of the Knights of Labor joined the Anti-Chinese sentiment, as well as a newspaper publisher, The Tacoma Ledger. The riot in Tacoma was successful, expelling 700 Chinese residents. [10]

Seattle Riot of 1886

Like Tacoma, Seattle also saw a growth in Chinese laborers during the 1880s. A mob of 1,500 forced Chinese residents out of Seattle in 1886. [13] Precursors began when the Seattle City Council passed a number of ordinances directly aimed against its Chinese residents. [13] Members of the Knights of Labor chapter in Seattle then organized a movement against Chinese laborers. On February 7, many "committees" demanded Chinese to leave Seattle by the ship Queen of the Pacific . After reaching the docks with the Chinese and their baggage, Sheriff John McGraw ordered the mob of committees to disperse and told Chinese residents that they were not obliged to leave. [13] Although the Sheriff promised to protect the Chinese, many decided to leave rather than stay. On February 8, 97 Chinese boarded the Queen of the Pacific. Another 110 Chinese would leave on February 14, 1886, with the remaining 50 Chinese scheduled to leave by train the following week. [13]

Idaho

History

Idaho was last to see Chinese immigration. The Chinese came soon after the rush to Idaho of prospective miners in 1862. [14] In 1869, after the completion of the transcontinental railroad, thousands of former railroad laborers migrated to Idaho in search of economic independence. [14] Many of these laborers were Chinese. Although they were the last of the Pacific Northwest territories to see a migration of Chinese, they would have the largest percentage of Chinese population per capita in the United States by 1870. [14] By 1870, there were 4,274 Chinese immigrants living in Idaho's territory. They constituted nearly 30 percent of Idaho's total population of 14,999. [14]

Anti-Chinese sentiments

Like both Washington and Oregon, anti-Chinese sentiment was prominent in Idaho. Together with the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, Idaho passed the anti-miscegenation law. [15] Because of these laws, many Chinese men were unable to marry and have children. This led to a diminished Chinese population in the state. By 1910, Idaho had only 859 Chinese residents in contrast to its 4,000 residents in 1870. [15]

Unlike Washington and Oregon however, Chinese residents in Idaho had more freedom in a number of entities. For example, Chinese laborers had access to Idaho's legal courts. They were allowed to file complaints against both Chinese and whites. [14] Chinese children were also integrated into the public schools. And in the 1890s, although no Chinese applied for citizenship, they were granted access to vote. [14]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinese Exclusion Act</span> Act of US Congress in 1882 that prohibited all immigration of Chinese laborers

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 and only major U.S. law ever implemented to prevent all members of a specific national group from immigrating to the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Idaho Territory</span> Territory of the U.S. between 1863–1890

The Territory of Idaho was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 3, 1863, until July 3, 1890, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as Idaho.

The Asiatic Exclusion League was an organization formed in the early 20th century in the United States and Canada that aimed to prevent immigration of people of Asian origin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geary Act</span> US law of 1892 that extended the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 with new requirements

The Geary Act was a United States law that extended the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 by adding onerous new requirements. It was written by California Representative Thomas J. Geary and was passed by Congress on May 5, 1892.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Immigration Act of 1917</span> United States law

The Immigration Act of 1917 was a United States Act that aimed to restrict immigration by imposing literacy tests on immigrants, creating new categories of inadmissible persons, and barring immigration from the Asia-Pacific zone. The most sweeping immigration act the United States had passed until that time, it followed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 in marking a turn toward nativism. The 1917 act governed immigration policy until it was amended by the Immigration Act of 1924; both acts were revised by the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952.

Asian immigration to the United States refers to immigration to the United States from part of the continent of Asia, which includes East Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia. Historically, immigrants from other parts of Asia such as West Asia were once considered "Asian", but are now considered immigrants from the Middle East. Asian-origin populations have historically been in the territory that would eventually become the United States since the 16th century. The first major wave of Asian immigration occurred in the late 19th century, primarily in Hawaii and the West Coast. Asian Americans experienced exclusion, and limitations to immigration, by the United States law between 1875 and 1965, and were largely prohibited from naturalization until the 1940s. Since the elimination of Asian exclusion laws and the reform of the immigration system in the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, there has been a large increase in the number of immigrants to the United States from Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Chinese Americans</span> History of ethnic Chinese in the United States

The history of Chinese Americans or the history of ethnic Chinese in the United States includes three major waves of Chinese immigration to the United States, beginning in the 19th century. Chinese immigrants in the 19th century worked in the California Gold Rush of the 1850s and the Central Pacific Railroad in the 1860s. They also worked as laborers in Western mines. They suffered racial discrimination at every level of society. The white people were stirred to anger by the "Yellow Peril" rhetoric. Despite provisions for equal treatment of Chinese immigrants in the 1868 Burlingame Treaty between the U.S. and China, political and labor organizations rallied against "cheap Chinese labor".

On February 19, 1862, the 37th United States Congress passed An Act to Prohibit the "Coolie Trade" by American Citizens in American Vessels. The act, which would be called the Anti-Coolie Act of 1862 in short, was passed by the California State Legislature in an attempt to appease rising anger among white laborers about salary competition created by the influx of Chinese immigrants at the height of the California Gold Rush. The act sought to protect white laborers by imposing a monthly tax on Chinese immigrants seeking to do business in the state of California.

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

The Rock Springs massacre, also known as the Rock Springs riot, occurred on September 2, 1885, in the present-day United States city of Rock Springs in Sweetwater County, Wyoming. The riot, and resulting massacre of immigrant Chinese miners by white immigrant miners, was the result of racial prejudice toward the Chinese miners, who were perceived to be taking jobs from the white miners. The Union Pacific Coal Department found it economically beneficial to give preference in hiring to Chinese miners, who were willing to work for lower wages than their white counterparts, angering the white miners. When the rioting ended, at least 28 Chinese miners were dead and 15 were injured. Rioters burned 78 Chinese homes, resulting in approximately $150,000 in property damage.

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>

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.

There were at least several incidents of anti-Chinese violence in Washington, a United States territory and later, a U.S. state, which occurred during the 19th, 20th and 21st century. In the 19th century, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 created hostile attitudes towards the Chinese people residing in the U.S. The act sparked a wave of anti-Chinese riots and murders occurring in Washington, such as the Tacoma Riot of 1885, the Rock Springs massacre and the Hells Canyon massacre in 1887. There were riots and mob actions in Issaquah and Seattle which resulted in at least four people being killed and extensive property damage. Anti-Chinese violence continued throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Pacific Coast race riots were a series of riots which occurred in the United States and Canada in 1907. The violent riots resulted from growing anti-Asian sentiment among White populations during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Rioting occurred in San Francisco, Bellingham, and Vancouver. Anti-Asian rioters in Bellingham focused mainly on several-hundred Sikh workers recently immigrated from India. Chinese immigrants were attacked in Vancouver and Japanese workers were mainly targeted in San Francisco.

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

Greater Seattle has had a Chinese American community almost since its founding in 1851. Chinese workers arriving in the 1860s were welcomed, because the Seattle area was sparsely settled and workers were needed; within a few decades, however, newly arrived white settlers resented the Chinese workers, and there were several anti-Chinese riots as the whites attempted to expel the Chinese from the area. Chinese settlement persisted, with the immigrants settling in a well-defined Chinatown where they maintained their culture through family groups, associations, and churches. In the mid-20th century Chinese Americans joined with other immigrant groups to oppose racial discrimination. In 1962 a Chinese American became the first person of Asian ancestry to hold elective office in the state of Washington.

Alien land laws were a series of legislative attempts to discourage Asian and other "non-desirable" immigrants from settling permanently in U.S. states and territories by limiting their ability to own land and property. Because the Naturalization Act of 1870 had extended citizenship rights only to African Americans but not other ethnic groups, these laws relied on coded language excluding "aliens ineligible for citizenship" to prohibit primarily Chinese and Japanese immigrants from becoming landowners without explicitly naming any racial group. Various alien land laws existed in over a dozen states. Like other discriminatory measures aimed at preventing minorities from establishing homes and businesses in certain areas, such as redlining and restrictive covenants, many alien land laws remained technically in effect, forgotten or ignored, for many years after enforcement of the laws fell out of practice.

Anti-Chinese violence in California includes a number of massacres, riots, expulsions and other violent actions that were directed at Chinese American communities in the 19th century. The attacks on Chinese were often sparked by labor disputes. In the 1880s alone, Chinese communities were attacked in 34 towns in California, often resulting in the local Chinatown being looted and burned.

The Yakima Valley riots were an expression of anti-Filipino sentiment that took place in the Yakima Valley of Washington (state) from November 8–11 in 1927. This riot took the homes and jobs lives of many Filipinos in the area. Unable to receive help or protection from the white police, Filipinos were easy targets for radicalized and angered whites who saw them as thieves of their women and jobs. Under the cover or darkness, and occasionally during the daytime, mobs of white men would harass, threaten, and beat innocent Filipinos for no other reason than their presence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Japanese in Portland, Oregon</span>

The history of Japanese-Americans and members of the Japanese diaspora community, known as Nikkei (日系), in the greater Portland, Oregon area dates back to the early 19th century. Large scale immigration began in the 1890s with the growth of the logging and railroad industries in the Pacific Northwest, after the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 limited migration of new cheap labor from China and those other areas controlled by the Qing dynasty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1885 Chinese expulsion from Eureka</span>

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

The Gresham-Yang Treaty was a treaty signed between the United States of America and the Qing dynasty in 1894, in which the Qing dynasty consented to measures put in place by the United States prohibiting Chinese immigration in exchange for the readmission of previous Chinese residents, thus agreeing to the enforcement of the Geary Act. This was the first time the United States government barred an entire ethnic group from entering the mainland United States of America.

References

  1. ↑ "Chinese Americans in the Columbia Basin". archive.vancouver.wsu.edu. Retrieved 2016-05-23.
  2. ↑ Wellborn, Mildred. "THE EVENTS LEADING TO THE CHINESE EXCLUSION ACTS." Annual Publication of the Historical Society of Southern California 9, no. 1/2 (1912): 49-58. Accessed March 15, 2021. doi:10.2307/41168895.
  3. ↑ Lew-Williams, Beth. "Before Restriction Became Exclusion: America’s Experiment in Diplomatic Immigration Control." Pacific Historical Review 83, no. 1 (2014): 24-56. Accessed March 7, 2021. doi:10.1525/phr.2014.83.1.24.
  4. ↑ Lee, Erika. "The Chinese Exclusion Example: Race, Immigration, and American Gatekeeping, 1882-1924." Journal of American Ethnic History 21, no. 3 (2002): 36-62. Accessed March 15, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27502847.
  5. 1 2 3 Chung, Sue Fawn (2014). In Pursuit of Gold:Chinese American Miners and Merchants in the American West. Seattle: University of Illinois Press. p. 296. ISBN   9780252080548.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "Chinese Americans in Oregon". oregonencyclopedia.org. Retrieved 2016-05-23.
  7. ↑ Stevens, Todd (2003). Brokers Between Worlds. Princeton University. p. 117.
  8. ↑ Mercier, Laurie. "Reworking Race, Class, and Gender into Pacific Northwest History." Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies 22, no. 3 (2001): 61-74. Accessed February 17, 2021. doi:10.2307/3347241.
  9. ↑ Hall, Raymond. "Kings, Knights, and Pawns: Black Coal Miners and Racial Conflict in Washington Territory." The Pacific Northwest Quarterly 105, no. 2 (2014): 85-96. Accessed March 9, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24631888.
  10. 1 2 3 "Timeline: Asian Americans in Washington State History". Center for the Study of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington.
  11. 1 2 "HistoryLink.org- the Free Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History". www.historylink.org. Retrieved 2016-05-23.
  12. ↑ Karlin, Jules Alexander (1954-08-01). "The Anti-Chinese Outbreak in Tacoma, 1885". Pacific Historical Review. 23 (3): 271–283. doi:10.2307/3635568. ISSN   0030-8684.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Chin, Doug (February 3, 1886). "Seattle's Anti-Chinese Race Riot-February 7, 1886 The Day Seattle Imploded".
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Zhu, Liping (1995-01-01). "'A Chinaman's Chance' on the Rocky Mountain Mining Frontier". Montana: The Magazine of Western History. 45 (4): 36–51. JSTOR   4519832.
  15. 1 2 "Out of the "Tunnels" and into the Light - The Blue Review". The Blue Review. 2014-02-12. Retrieved 2016-05-23.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.