HISTORY
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Cultural History: Chinese Americans
A History of Chinese Americans in California by Nancy Wey, Ph.D., Researcher, Writer, and Lecturer From FIVE VIEWS: California Department of Parks and Recreation Sections Introduction Early Contacts References A History of Chinese Americans in California: This report concentrates on the early decades of Chinese American history, 1850 to 1900. Limiting our scope in time has made it possible to search for endangered resources in all 58 counties of the state, instead of restricting our activity to the leading 10 or 12 counties. In consultation with members of the Chinese American community, the survey research team set this priority because of the importance of ascertaining true settlement patterns, occupations, lifestyles, responses to discrimination, and survival of early Chinese immigrants. Information on these subjects in nineteenth-century newspapers and other written records is filled with caricatures and derogatory epithets. Yet these sources are often quoted even today because of the scarcity of written documentation on certain aspects of Chinese American history. Because of this, the value of the survey of Chinese American historic sites goes beyond simple recognition of certain historic buildings and places. The location, type, and historic significance of those buildings and places provide valuable information about patterns of early Chinese American life. The term "Chinese American" is used here in its broadest sense, to include both citizens and non-citizens. The reason is that until 1943, Chinese immigrants (with few exceptions) were prevented by law from be coming naturalized citizens of this country. Because such legislation was discriminatory, it seems only fair to include as Chinese Americans permanent residents who spent most of their lives in the United States, and whose major achievements or contributions were in the United States. Even many of those who in their final years returned to China to die left their children and grandchildren in this country. Chinese American history is a living, continuous history, as shown by the numbers of fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-generation Chinese Americans in California and elsewhere in the United States. To make this clear in the survey, some historic sites from the early twentieth century were included. The early Chinese immigrant population did not die out but survived despite racial violence, discriminatory legislation, restrictive covenants, and limited opportunity. Amid the increased numbers of Chinese immigrants in recent years, it should be remembered that not all Chinese Americans are recent arrivals. A History of Chinese Americans in California: Considerable evidence exists to substantiate the early exploration of the west coast of North America by Chinese adventurers, priests, and merchants. In fact, there were early Chinese immigrants to Mexico before those in California, and a number of Chinese in California during Spanish rule. One of those was Ah Nam, the cook who worked for Governor Pablo Vicente de Sola in Monterey in 1815. The west coast of North America in the nineteenth century was known to Chinese sailors who were employed on American ships, or who fished off the coast of California in Chinese junks. As early as 1848, it was advocated in the United States that Chinese workers be encouraged to come to this country to provide inexpensive farm labor. Trade Relations with China Since pre-revolutionary days, trade has been carried on between this country and China. The tea dumped into Boston Harbor at the outset of the American Revolution was from China, and many colonial homes displayed ceramic wares and other objects from China. Even before colonial times, the desire to find a new sea route to China led to the coming of some Europeans to this continent. Under these circumstances, it was natural that California should develop trade relations with China. Building materials were in great demand in early California because of the sudden increase in population brought about by the Gold Rush. Pre-fabricated buildings and materials were shipped from the East Coast by way of Cape Horn, or were imported from other countries overseas. One of the best-known examples of prefabricated buildings im ported from China was Parrott's Granite Block building in San Francisco for which pre-cut granite blocks were shipped to the United States. Chinese stonemasons came also, and on June 8, 1852, they went on strike for higher wages. This earliest recorded strike by early Chinese immigrants is of considerable significance since it shows their concern for equal pay for equal work. Of all buildings prefabricated in China and exported to the United States, the earliest one still standing is the Double Springs Courthouse in Calaveras County. It was constructed in 1850 from pre-cut camphor wood. A History of Chinese Americans in California: Lifesytles Of Early Immigrants Most Chinese immigrants entered California through the port of San Francisco. They developed a Chinese American community there, and made an effort to participate in the political and cultural life of the city. In 1850, they attended a religious meeting and received copies of Christian religious writings, marched in a funeral procession for President Zachary Taylor, and participated in festivities celebrating California's admission into the Union. In 1852, several prominent Chinese Americans took part in the Fourth of July Parade in San Francisco. Chinese Americans in San Francisco also sought to preserve some of their own cultural traditions. In 1851, they celebrated the lunar new year in the traditional way. In 1852, the first performance of Cantonese opera was held in the American Theatre on Sansome Street, and several months later, the first Chinese theatre building was completed. Two Chinese-language newspapers began publishing in 1854 and 1855. The Kong Chow Association is generally believed to have been the first organization established among Chinese in the United States. Early Cantonese who arrived in San Francisco in 1849 were apparently from the Sun Wui and Hawk Shan districts (which make up the Kong Chow Association). The exact date when the Kong Chow Temple was first built is unknown, but documentary evidence suggests that it was in existence as early as 1853. Rivaling the Kong Chow Association as the first organization established among Chinese in the United States was the Chew Yick Association. On December 10, 1849, 300 members of the latter organization elected Norman As-sing, a prominent San Francisco merchant, as their leader. As-sing claimed to be an American citizen, naturalized in Charleston, South Carolina and converted to Christianity. He had a greater knowledge of American customs and language than most other early Chinese Americans. At his Macao and Woosung Restaurant on the corner of Kearny and Commercial streets, about a block from Portsmouth Plaza, he gave banquets at which he entertained local politicians and policemen. He often represented the Chinese American community on formal occasions, and served as an interpreter. Tong K. Achick was among a group of Chinese immigrants arriving in San Francisco in 1851 who had learned English and some American customs at mission schools in China. He was instrumental in founding the Yeong Wo Association for immigrants from his native district of Heung Shan. Later, he and Norman As-sing became rivals for leadership of the Chinese American community in San Francisco. Not all of the early Chinese pioneers landed in San Francisco. One location along the coast of California where early Chinese landed and where their descendants have remained is the city of Mendocino, which was a port for the California lumber industry. The only historic building remaining from this early Chinese American community is the Mo Dai Miu, or Temple of Kuan Kung. Religion Taoism was the religion of most of the early Chinese immigrants, and Kuan Kung was the most popular deity. Kuan Yu (later called Kuan Kung) was an actual person who had lived in China during the Three Kingdoms Period (third century, A.D.). He has sometimes been referred to as the god of war, but this designation is misleading. He was a military leader renowned for his courage, loyalty, and adherence to lofty ideals. He was even known to have sacrificed his personal success when it would have required him to compromise his principles. These qualities are the reasons he was venerated after his death, and became so popular among the early Cantonese who came to this country. The Taoist temple was a source of strength for early Chinese American pioneers. Worship was usually done individually, rather than in congregations. Respect for deities and departed relatives was shown by offerings of incense, accompanied by food and drink on special occasions. Paper offerings (in the form of money, clothing, etc.) were burned, since burning was viewed as a means of transmitting objects from the visible to the invisible world. Prayers were offered silently in the heart before the altar. Questions were asked of various deities, usually by writing the question on a piece of paper and then burning it on the altar. An answer was obtained by consulting the prayer sticks (sometimes called fortune sticks), which had to be interpreted by the priest or deacon of the temple. Evidence suggests that most frontier Taoist temples were supervised by deacons rather than ordained priests. The Taoist temple was also a social center and a focal point for early Chinese American communities. The first and fifteenth days of the lunar month were days of worship, when people often met at the temple. Each spring, a "bomb day" festival was held in most temples. The highlight of the festival was the shooting off of a rocket (or "bomb") containing lucky rings. The temple also provided some social services, such as lodging for travelers. Legal Status Of Early Immigrants The United States Constitution in the 1850s reserved the right of naturalization for White immigrants to this country. It recognized only two skin colors, White and Black. Since early Chinese immigrants were neither Black nor White, some were allowed to become naturalized citizens, but most were not. Without citizenship, they could not vote or hold government office, and had no voice in determining their future in this country. They were designated as "aliens ineligible for citizenship," and as such were unable to own land or file mining claims. Chinese American miners reworked old claims at times and in places where they were prevented by law or racial violence from filing their own claims. Especially after it was ruled that Chinese could not testify in court against Whites, the only reasonable course of action was to try to avoid open confrontation. or direct competition with Whites. In later years public-spirited Chinese Americans who accumulated money in excess of their needs often sent money back to China to build schools and hospitals. They retained their Chinese citizenship, since they were not allowed to become citizens of the United States. They could not vote, hold public office, or be employed by the State. Their future here was uncertain, even though they paid taxes and contributed to the economy of the country. Fishing Exactly when the Chinese began to fish off the coast of California is unknown, but oral tradition states that fishing began before gold was discovered. There were early communities in Monterey, San Diego, and San Luis Obispo counties, whose inhabitants fished for squid, abalone, and various kinds of fish. As early as 1854, there was a fishing village on Rincon Point in San Francisco. Chinese began fishing for shrimp in California probably around the mid-1860s. Numerous villages or "shrimp camps" were established on the shores of both San Francisco and San Pablo bays. China Camp in Marin County was one of the largest and longest-lived of these camps. Shrimp fishing was a long-established industry in China. Many immigrant Chinese arrived with knowledge of fishing and preservation techniques necessary to develop a shrimping enterprise in California. In the early days, when there was little demand for fresh shrimp in the United States, most of the shrimp catch was dried and sent back to China. Later, as the demand for fresh shrimp grew in California, Chinese American shrimp fishermen came under increasing pressure from other fishing groups. Discriminatory legislation was passed that required the purchase of special licenses, forbade traditional Chinese fishing techniques, limited the fishing season, prohibited export of dried shrimp, and restricted the size of the catch. As the population of China Camp dwindled, only the Quan family persisted and adapted to new regulations and changing technology. Today, Frank Quan is the last Chinese American shrimp fisherman there. Chinese Americans also worked in fish canneries which processed the fish that other fishermen caught. For example, most of the employees at the salmon cannery in Del Norte County, established by the Occident and Orient Commercial Company in 1857, were Chinese immigrants. Immigration As soon as news of the discovery of gold in California reached China, there was a dramatic increase in the numbers of Chinese immigrants to the west coast of the United States. Most of the immigrants came from Kuangtung Province in Southern China. That section of China had previously had contact with the West through the port of Canton. The reasons many Chinese emigrated were the series of wars, rebellions, civil disorders, floods, famines, and droughts that wracked China, and made earning a livelihood difficult in their native land. A particular humiliation was the defeat of China by the British in the Opium War of 1840, after the Chinese sought to cut off the British importation of opium into China. To be better prepared for whatever difficulties might lie ahead, the Chinese often emigrated in self-help groups from the same village, often with the same surname. Because few of them knew the language and customs of California, they formed larger self-help groups consisting of people with the same surname or from the same region. Most had to borrow money for their passage to California, and were required to repay this debt from their earnings here. Those who could not borrow from their families borrowed from agencies under the credit-ticket system. Attempts to bring Chinese workers to the United States as contract laborers were stymied by the absence of any means to enforce the contracts. The term "coolie" refers to contract laborers whose contract specified conditions approximating servitude, slavery, or peonage. Use of this term with regard to early Chinese immigrants to this country is incorrect. Widespread use of the term "coolie" to persuade American voters that all Chinese immigrants were slaves, and that their immigration to the United States ought to be prohibited, has given the term racist connotations. Technology Brought From China The presence of the ailanthus tree (the so-called "Tree of Heaven") throughout California has long been a puzzle. The tree is native to China, but not to the United States; yet it grows profusely in those regions where early Chinese immigrants lived. All sorts of fanciful explanations are given -- that the Chinese accidently brought the seeds to this country in the cuffs of their trousers (their trousers did not have cuffs), or that the Chinese brought the seeds to this country because they were homesick. The real reason Chinese immigrants brought ailanthus seeds to this country is that the trees are thought to contain an herbal remedy beneficial for arthritis. The Chinese "wedding plant" was also brought to this country as an herbal remedy, but is less easily recognized. Herbal medicine fulfilled an important health need in the nineteenth century for both Chinese and non-Chinese alike. Western medicine had not yet developed wonder drugs, anaesthetics, vaccinations, or sophisticated surgical techniques. Patent medicines were widely used, and their contents were not regulated by any agency of the government. Drastic measures, such as bleeding, were sometimes resorted to. On the other hand, Chinese herbal remedies had one to two thousand years of use be hind them. In fact, some so-called "wonder drugs" are actually synthesized forms of various herbs. Even today, some medically trained Chinese Americans prefer some herbs to their synthesized forms because the natural herbs have no side effects. One of the ancient building techniques brought from China was construction using rammed earth. While adobe and rammed earth are of ten associated with Spanish and Mexican cultures, rammed earth was a construction technique in use in China as early as 1500 B.C. This technique involves packing mud between wooden forms and hammering it until it becomes as hard as stone. It is an inexpensive building technique, but it is vulnerable to rains and dampness. When it is used in South China, where the weather is often damp, buildings are faced with stone for added protection. Mining After gold was discovered in California, Chinese immigrants joined the ranks of gold seekers from all over the world. But when they arrived in the gold fields, they were greeted by racial discrimination. In 1850, the California Legislature passed a law taxing all foreign miners 20 dollars a month. Although stated in general terms, it was enforced chiefly against Mexicans and Chinese. In May 1852, at Foster and Atchinson's Bar in Yuba County, a meeting was held and a resolution was passed denying Chinese the right to hold claims and requiring all Chinese to leave. This was followed by a mass meeting in the Columbia Mining District in the southern mines, where a resolution was passed to exclude "Asiatics and South Sea Islanders" from mining activities. In 1855, an anti-Chinese convention was held in Shasta County to expel the Chinese from mining claims. Shortly afterward, the California Legislature passed an act to discourage immigration to the state by persons who could not become citizens and who were, for the most part, Chinese. One of the earliest acts of racial violence against Chinese immigrants took place in 1856, when white miners from outlying camps marched down to Yreka's Chinese American community, destroyed property, and beat up Chinese Americans. Despite hostility and discrimination, Chinese continued to immigrate to California to avail themselves of whatever opportunities awaited them here. When they were prevented from mining gold in the mining districts, they became merchants, laborers, or laundrymen, or sought employment elsewhere. Construction Chinese immigrants built many of the flumes and roads in the mining districts. In Mariposa County in the 1850s, the Big Gap Flume was constructed by Chinese workers of the Golden Rock Water Company to cross Conrad Gulch and carry water in a gravity flow system to gold mining areas. This wooden flume, suspended by trestle works, was part of a 36-mile ditch supplying water for miners in Garrotte, Big Oak Flat, Moccasin Creek, and other nearby areas. Throughout California, there are stone walls that are said to have been built by Chinese American workers in the nineteenth century. They are usually made from uncut field stones, without the use of mortar. The stones were obtained by clearing the surrounding land for pasture or farming. The best-documented stone walls built by Chinese American workers are on the Quick Ranch in Mariposa County. They are built over rolling hills, rather than on level land. The fact that they are still standing today is evidence of the skill of the workers. In 1852, at the same time anti-Chinese meetings were being held in the gold mining districts, Governor John McDougal, in his annual message to the California Legislature, gave the first official endorsement to employment of Chinese immigrants in projects to reclaim swamps and flooded lands. Only a few Chinese immigrants worked on reclamation projects in the 1850s, but most of the workers who drained swamps and built levees in the 1860s and 1870s were Chinese Americans. Many early roads in California were built by Chinese immigrants. Del Norte County, Chinese Americans built trails and roads eastward through dense forests and rugged mountains to the communities of Low Divide, Altaville, and Gasquet, and to the state of Oregon. In Lake County, Chinese Americans built the Bartlett Toll Road through the hills east of Clear Lake. Viticulture Chinese immigrants also provided essential labor for development of the wine industry in California. They built and worked for small wineries like the John Swett Winery in Contra Costa County. They were employed by Colonel Agostin Haraszthy in his Buena Vista Vineyards in Sonoma County, the first modern commercial vineyard in California, and later worked at the Beringer Brothers Winery in Napa County in 1876. Chinese Americans also worked in vineyards in Southern California, and even constructed the buildings of the Brookside Winery in San Bernardino County from bricks they themselves made. Agriculture Since most of the early Chinese immigrants were from farming areas in Kuangtung Province in China, it was natural for them to become involved in agriculture in this country. Few of them were able to become in dependent farmers because most were not citizens and were prevented from owning land by local laws and restrictive covenants. Many had truck gardens in which they raised vegetables and fruit they sold door to door. Others were sharecroppers or tenant farmers, who leased land and paid the landlord part of their crop. Most were migrant farm laborers. Chinese American farm labor was essential to the development of various crops which required special skill and care. Early Chinese immigrants were the only ones who could grow celery, and were the main labor force for the Earl Fruit Company in Orange County. Development of the citrus industry in Riverside County was dependent on Chinese American workers. Chinese American farmers grew strawberries, peanuts, rice, and other fruits and vegetables. Chinese American migrant farm workers harvested wheat, other grains, hops, apples, grapes, and pears and processed them for shipping. One of the occupations in which Chinese Americans faced little competition was seaweed farming. This appears to involve the simple but laborious task of gathering edible seaweed from the rocks where it grows, drying it in the sun, and packing it for shipment. Actually, if more than one crop is desired, rocks must be prepared for the succeeding crop by burning off inedible seaweed. Otherwise, inedible seaweed will take over, and will prevent edible seaweed from growing back. Many of these seaweed farms were located along the coast of San Luis Obispo County. Vegetable gardens were often located on land no one else wanted. One Chinese American farmer raised vegetables on an isolated island called Way-Aft-Whyle in Clear Lake, Lake County, in the 1880s. All supplies had to be obtained from stores in a distant town, then transported by boat to the island. The vegetables raised had to be taken to shore, then carried all the way to town to be sold. Since the island is barely above water level, it could easily be inundated in storms. A History of Chinese Americans in California: Discriminatory Legislation In 1860, two discriminatory laws were passed in California. One forbade Chinese American children to attend public schools. The other re quired a special license to be purchased by Chinese American fishermen. It was called a license instead of a tax because unequal taxation was for bidden by law (in other words, it was illegal to tax Chinese fishermen and not Italian or Portuguese fishermen). In 1862, the first nationwide discriminatory legislation singling out Chinese (or Mongolians, as they were often called) and not vaguely directed at "foreign miners" or "aliens ineligible for citizenship" was passed. The United States Congress passed a "Cooly Traffic Law" prohibiting transportation and importation of coolies from China, except when immigration was certified as voluntary by United States consular agents. Shortly afterward, the California legislature passed an act to protect free White labor against competition from Chinese coolie labor, and to discourage immigration of Chinese into the state of California. A "police tax" law was passed, whereby all Mongolians 18 years or over, unless they had already paid a miner's tax or were engaged in production of sugar, rice, coffee, or tea, had to pay a monthly personal tax of $2.50. This was ruled unconstitutional by the State Supreme Court in 1863. Manufacturing Chinese immigrant labor was first employed on a large scale in the cigar industry in 1859. Soon, some Chinese Americans set up their own cigar factories. As early as 1866, half of the cigar factories were owned by Chinese Americans, and by 1870, more than 90 percent of the total labor force in the cigar industry was Chinese American. A vigorous anti-Chinese campaign in the early 1880s eliminated Chinese American labor in cigar-making factories. The industry declined rapidly thereafter. The woolen mills in California were founded on Chinese labor. White workers, except for foremen, were rare in the early 1860s. Employment of Chinese Americans in shoe manufacturing can be attributed, in part, to their availability and their manual skill. Chinese Americans were first employed in shoe manufacturing in 1869, but worked in slipper factories prior to that time. By 1870, Chinese Americans owned a number of shoe factories. The entry of Chinese American firms into clothing manufacturing dated from the late 1860s, and Chinese American firms and laborers soon dominated the ready-made clothing trade. In addition, numerous Chinese Americans were employed in the manufacturing of soap, candles, watches, brushes, brooms, glues, bricks, powder, whips, and paper bags. Anti-Chinese elements in the labor union movement forced most Chinese Americans out of manufacturing. Union members charged that the less expensive labor of Chinese Americans was causing White unemployment and an economic depression. The real culprit was the transcontinental railroad, which brought unemployed European immigrants and cheap manufactured goods from the East Coast. Without reliable, efficient, less expensive Chinese labor, most of the factories went out of business because they could not compete with cheaper Eastern goods. Of the early manufacturers, only the garment industry has survived in California, and it continues to employ Chinese Americans and other minorities. The Lumber Industry There were Chinese American lumberjacks in Del Norte, Humboldt, and Mendocino counties, but racial prejudice soon forced them out of that occupation. Some remained in the lumber camps as cooks and laborers. In Truckee in Nevada County, Chinese American men worked not only as lumberjacks, but also as mill hands, ice cutters, and teamsters. Most Chinese American women there were employed as railroad laborers. Railroad Construction The most impressive construction feat of Chinese Americans was the work done on the western section of the transcontinental railroad. The groundbreaking ceremony for the Central Pacific Railroad took place in Sacramento in 1863, but Chinese American workers were not hired until 1865. From 1863 to 1865, less than 50 miles of running track had been laid, and this was over relatively level land. The construction superintendent, J. H. Strobridge, was slow to hire Chinese workers, even though they had been employed on the California Central Railroad and were praised for their work by the Sacramento Union in 1858. Chinese American workers built the section of the railroad through the foothills and over the high Sierra Nevada. They set explosive charges at precarious heights around Cape Horn in the Sierra. At Donner Summit, they worked and lived under the snow. They dug chimneys and air shafts, and lived by lantern light, tunneling their way from the camps to the portal of the tunnel to work long underground shifts. A labyrinth of passageways developed under the snow. The corridors were sometimes wide enough to allow two-horse sleds to move through freely, and were as much as 200 feet long. Through them, workmen traveled back and forth, digging, blasting, and removing the rubble. However, loss of life was heavy, for snow slides sometimes carried away whole camps. In 1867, 2,000 Chinese American workers went on strike, but were unsuccessful in obtaining the same higher wages and shorter hours as White men. On completion of the railroad, their work was acknowledged by E. B. Crocker in Sacramento, who said: "I wish to call to your minds that the early completion of this railroad we have built has been in large measure due to that poor, despised class of laborers called the Chinese, to the fidelity and industry they have shown." It was at Auburn that the Central Pacific Railroad first began hiring Chinese Americans for railroad construction. The Chinese American community in Auburn had been founded by gold miners, and increased in size with the influx of railroad workers. The community has survived, along with two pioneering families, the Kee family and the Yue family. Charlie Yue is said to have been the first licensed Chinese American gold assayer in California. Another town along the route of the railroad is Dutch Flat, where Theodore Judah and D. W. Strong made the original subscription to build the first transcontinental railroad. Little is mentioned of Chinese American residents of the town, who numbered 2,000 in 1860. The transcontinental railroad is often credited to Judah's "vision" without acknowledging that visions do not become realities without hard work, and that the railroad could not have been built at that time without Chinese American workers. One building remains of the Chinese American community in Dutch Flat, a vacant store constructed of rammed earth. Mining for Borax and Other Minerals Borax was first discovered in Borax Lake in Lake County in 1856, by Dr. John Veatch. Four years later, he found borax in Little Borax Lake, four miles to the west. The California Borax Company operated at the big lake between 1864 and 1868, extracting 590 tons of borax. The operations caused a terrible stench, endured willingly only by Chinese Americans, who had been driven out of the gold mining areas and could not find other employment because of racial discrimination. In 1868, the company moved all of its operations to Little Borax Lake. This small lake supplied the entire borax needs of the country from 1868 to 1873, the last year of operation, producing 140 tons valued at $89,600. The discovery of enormous beds of the mineral in the deserts of California and Nevada ended all production in Lake County. Chinese American workers were needed at Harmony Borax Works in Death Valley since they would work there year-around, even in the extreme heat of summer. In addition to gathering the dry borax, they also built roads across the desert and repaired them after storms. Quicksilver (mercury) mines also employed Chinese Americans. They are known to have worked at the New Almaden Mine in Santa Clara County, at the quicksilver mine in San Luis Obispo County, and at the Sulphur Banks Quicksilver Mine in Lake County. Mining quicksilver was hazardous because of the noxious fumes, which could cause death or disability. The Sulphur Banks Quicksilver Mine contained an additional hazard in the underground hot springs, which flowed around the quicksilver deposits and could scald miners to death. Economic Impacts When the transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, its backers expected it to bring prosperity to California. Instead, it brought an economic depression. The railroad flooded California's markets with cheap manufactured goods from the East Coast, and made many of California's fledgling manufacturing industries non-competitive. This situation was exacerbated when the railroad brought large numbers of unemployed European immigrants to California from the East Coast. A scapegoat was needed, so the economic depression was blamed on unemployed Chinese American railroad workers. Actually, they were eagerly sought for employment in other parts of the country. In January 1870, 250 Chinese were employed by General John C. Walker for construction of the Houston and Texas Railroad. In February, the Colorado legislature passed a joint resolution welcoming Chinese immigrants "to hasten the development and early prosperity of the territory by supplying the demand for cheap labor." In June 1870, 75 Chinese Americans arrived in North Adams, Massachusetts to work in Calvin T. Simpson's shoe factory. In September, 68 Chinese Americans went to Belleville, New Jersey to work in the Passaic Steam Laundry. In 1872, 70 Chinese Americans arrived in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania to work in the Beaver Falls Cutlery Company. In 1873, Chinese American workers were brought to Indianapolis, Indiana, and to Augusta, Georgia to work on construction projects. It appears that there were not enough Chinese American workers, for in 1870, 200 Chinese were brought from Hong Kong to work in the Arkansas Valley. While some of these workers were used as strikebreakers, it should be kept in mind that White unions would not allow Chinese Americans to join them at that time. Furthermore, White unions would not support strikes by Chinese American workers, nor would they agree to the principle of equal pay for equal work, regardless of race. Rather than damaging the economy and bringing on a depression, which they were charged with doing, Chinese Americans greatly aided the development of the state of California. A full assessment of their contribution has not yet been made, but their contribution in land reclamation and railroad construction alone is impressive. Reclaimed lands, which originally cost $1 to $3 per acre, increased in value from $20 up to $100 per acre. In the mid-1870s, a former surveyor general of the state estimated that the increase in the value of the property in the state due to Chinese labor building the railroads and reclaiming tule lands was $289,700,000. Settlement Patterns In Chinese, San Francisco was known as Dai Fou ("the big city"). Sacramento, which many Chinese miners passed through on the way to the northern mines, was known as Yi Fou ("the second city"). Marysville, which was the supply center for the northern mines, was called Sam Fou ("the third city"). In all, there were 286 cities or towns with such large Chinese American populations in 1870 that the names of these cities and towns were translated into Chinese characters phonetically. Wells Fargo Express Company agents had to learn these names in order to deliver mail and packages from China. Early Chinese immigrants settled throughout California. By 1860, they had settled in all but five counties of the state, and by 1870, they lived in every county, working in a wide variety of occupations. The first permanent Chinese settlement in Los Angeles was made in 1856, when three men decided to stay there. Within four years, they had been joined by at least 16 others. In the 1860s, Chinese workers were brought to Santa Barbara County from Canton by Colonel W. W. Hollister to work on his Goleta Valley estate and to serve as bus boys, chefs, and waiters in his hotel. Segregation of Chinese Americans began in the mining districts, where Chinese Americans were forced to live in the least desirable sections of towns. In Marysville, Yreka, and elsewhere, Chinese Americans could live only along the river, which was subject to flooding. In Mendocino, they could live only on the swampy headlands next to the ocean. In Fiddletown in Amador County, there was no undesirable section of town, so a natural boundary, a stream that ran across the main street, was used to divide the Chinese American from the White section of town. While some White businesses were allowed to locate in the Chinese section, no Chinese American homes or businesses were permitted in the White section of Fiddletown. Once segregated, Chinese American communities were often denied public services available to other taxpayers. By the 1860s, the city of Ventura in Ventura County had a community of about 200 Chinese Americans. Recent evidence has been uncovered to show that they were denied use of Ventura's water and sewer facilities. They probably could not rely on the municipal fire department either, for in 1876 they established their own fire brigade with a two-wheeled cart and 100 feet of hose. This company was active for at least 30 years, and was often mentioned as being first on the scene. A History of Chinese Americans in California: Racial Violence One of the most savage and brutal events involving Chinese Americans was the Los Angeles Massacre on October 24, 1871. The incident began with a quarrel between Chinese, who shot at each other. The shooting attracted a large crowd of White spectators. When one of the spectators was accidentally shot and killed, the crowd began to riot and to threaten any Chinese Americans in the vicinity. Homes and businesses were looted. It has been estimated that the loss to Chinese Americans in money was from $30,000 to $70,000. Later, the coroner's jury reported that 19 Chinese Americans had died at the hands of a mob on October 24, 1871, and that only one of them was implicated in the shooting of the White man. The leaders of the mob escaped punishment. A series of fires destroyed Chinese American communities in Yreka (1871), Chico (1873), and Weaverville (1874). In 1874, a meeting was held in Fresno to prevent Chinese Americans from moving into the White section of town. Anti-Chinese riots in San Francisco began at a meeting of the Workingmen's Party and lasted three days, during which Chinese American property was looted and burned and several Chinese were killed. After a White rancher was murdered, allegedly by a Chinese, Rocklin's Chinese American buildings were pulled down and set afire along with buildings at China Gardens on the outskirts of town, and the people were given just a few hours to leave town. Because of the Rocklin incident in Placer County, Chinese Americans were also expelled from Loomis, Penryn, Grass Valley, and other nearby towns; they fled to Folsom for safety. The Anti-Chinese Movement Chinese Americans who faced discrimination in other occupations often set up laundry businesses to earn a living. Chinese laundries at first faced no competition, since washing and cooking were considered women's occupations unsuitable for self-respecting White men. However, as laundries provided a steady income, many Chinese American laundrymen prospered. Men of other nationalities began to reconsider the laundry business, and set up completing establishments. In 1876, the Anti-Chinese and Workingmen's Protective Laundry Association was incorporated in San Jose. Subsequently, many laundries, like the Hi Chung Laundry in Elmira, Solano County, went out of business. In San Francisco, a series of discriminatory local laws was passed in the early 1870s. The Cubic Air Ordinance regulated the size of living and working quarters. The Sidewalk Ordinance forbade the use of poles, such as Chinese traditionally used, to carry bundles. The Queue Ordinance required Chinese in jail to cut their queues (their long braided hair), even though they would not be able to return to China without them. A series of laundry ordinances required Chinese American laundries to pay higher taxes than other laundries, and regulated the types of buildings in which laundry businesses could be housed. Enactment of these local laws was followed by a series of lawsuits by Chinese Americans who succeeded in overturning all except the Sidewalk Ordinance. The most celebrated lawsuit was the Yick Wo Laundry Case, whose owner Lee Yick successfully challenged the validity of a law that would have been used to drive the Chinese out of the laundry business. In addition, his lawsuit established the principle that a law is discriminatory, even if its wording is not discriminatory, if it is applied in a discriminatory manner. Some discriminatory legislation was challenged by White business men who needed Chinese American workers. When the California Legislature passed a law prohibiting corporations holding state charters from employing "any Chinese or Mongolian," the president of Sulphur Bank Mine in Lake County defied the law and had it nullified. A law requiring the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to increase the size of the police force was passed in 1878. However, special police were still needed to supplement the regular force, and could be hired to protect businesses and property throughout the city except in the Chinese Quarter. The new law prohibited the employment of special police within the Chinese Quarter, the boundaries of which were set by police commissioners. One of the results of this law was to encourage the growth of tongs, providing protection otherwise lacking. Establishment of boundaries for the so-called "Chinese Quarter" shows that Chinese Americans who at first were able to live throughout the city had, by 1878, been segregated into one section of the city. The fact that boundaries were to be established from time to time by police commissioners suggests that police may have had a role in enforcing segregation. Prohibition of special police officers for the Chinese Quarter indicates a denial of equal or sufficient law enforcement. Continuous agitation by anti-Chinese organizations and labor unions led to a congressional hearing on the question of Chinese immigration in San Francisco in 1876. Although congressional committees recommended prohibition of Chinese immigration, this could not be done until the Burlingame Treaty between China and the United States was amended. A History of Chinese Americans in California: Exclusion The Burlingame Treaty was amended in 1880. After steadily mounting agitation, the Chinese Exclusion Law was passed in 1882 by the United States Congress, and signed by President Chester A. Arthur. Under this law, Chinese laborers, unskilled or skilled, were excluded from entering the United States for 10 years. Only merchants, diplomats, tourists, students, and teachers were allowed to enter the country. Under these categories, professional people, such as herbalists, were sometimes considered as laborers. Merchants could bring their wives to this country, but laborers could not. Chinese American workers were forced to decide whether they should return to China, or remain in this country to work and possibly never see their families again. Expulsion Enactment of the Exclusion Law was followed by expulsion of Chinese Americans from various localities. Before 1885, for example, Chinese American miners faced hostility in Humboldt County despite the amount of Foreign Miners' taxes they had paid that contributed to the economy of the country. Before 1885, restaurants in Eureka, the county seat, advertised in local newspapers that they did not employ Chinese help. In addition, there was considerable agitation in the county for the Chinese Exclusion Law. Finally, on February 6, 1885, an event occurred that provided a pretext for moving all Chinese Americans out of the county and shipping them bodily to San Francisco, along with as much of their property as they could pack in 48 hours. On February 6, Councilman David Kendall was accidentally shot and killed, allegedly by Chinese Americans. Instead of punishing the guilty, White citizens decided that all Chinese Americans must leave the country, never to return. Chinese American merchants lost the goods in their stores since they could not pack them in time, and Chinese American families lost their household furnishings. The steamer Humboldt carried 135 to San Francisco, and the steamer City of Chester took 175. When this news reached the Chinese Six Companies, they brought suit against the City of Eureka for $6,000,000 in damages they claimed the Chinese Americans from Eureka had suffered. After several months, the suit was concluded with the ruling that the Chinese Americans should be compensated for property damage (there was none) but not for business losses, which were extensive. Del Norte County, on the coast of California north of Humboldt County, followed suit. Citizens of Del Norte County had no particular pretext of their own, but on January 31, 1886, they expelled virtually all Chinese Americans from the county, and sent them by boat to San Francisco. Around the time of these expulsions, a series of fires occurred throughout the state, some of suspicious origin. In 1881, buildings of the Chinese American community in Dutch Flat burned a second time, causing a loss of about $30,000 and some 60 buildings. In 1886, a group of 30 masked men from Wheatland, Yuba County, raided Chinese American workers on H. Roddan's ranch, beat 11 hop pickers, then burned down the Chinese American bunkhouse on C. D. Wood's ranch. In May 1887, a fire destroyed San Jose's Chinese American community under suspicious circumstances. Newspapers on the following day noted that the fire had started in three places at once and that water tanks were empty at the time. Three months earlier, the San Jose City Council had discussed the abatement of Chinatown, and had directed their attorneys to find legal ways of doing so About a week after the San Jose fire, a fire destroyed about $50,000 worth of property in Fresno's Chinese American community. There was a high wind and no water. In October 1887, fire almost totally destroyed Chico's Chinese American community, and "to cap the disaster, the firehose was chopped in four places during the conflagration, evidently by persons who hated the Chinese at this time." In 1888, Congress passed the Scott Act, which barred re-entry of Chinese laborers to the United States, even if they left the country only temporarily. Many men who had gone back to China to visit their families and had left property and business ventures in this country were prevented from returning. As a result of the Chinese Exclusion Law, the Scott Act, and racial discrimination, Chinese immigration to the United States showed a 40% decline between 1880 and 1890. Before 1880, Chinese immigration to the United States had increased steadily. Ironically, one of the results of the Exclusion Law and the Scott Act was a shortage of Chinese American workers. Since there were not enough of them to fill the demand, they were able to obtain a higher rate of pay. A History of Chinese Americans in California: The Gay Nineties were not carefree years for Chinese Americans or their relatives in China. In 1892, Congress passed the Geary Act, which extended the Chinese Exclusion Law of 1882 for another 10 years, and also added the requirement that all Chinese living in the United States obtain certificates of residence. Insufficient effort was made to explain this requirement to people whose understanding of English was limited, nor was the regulation sufficiently publicized. Raids by immigration authorities were conducted on various Chinese American communities, and people without residence certificates were held for Fires and racial violence forced many Chinese Americans to leave the countryside, and may have encouraged some of them to return to China, In 1893 alone, most buildings of the second Chinese American community in Riverside were destroyed by fire. Five hundred Chinese American men were forced by terrorists to leave their jobs in nurseries and vineyards around Fresno. There were anti-Chinese riots in Redlands, San Bernardino County, by 400 Whites, and the National Guard had to be called in. The final result of discriminatory laws and racial violence during the 1880s was a 37% decrease in California's Chinese American population. The Chinese American Cemetery in Nevada City, Nevada County, is an important historic site of the 1890s. Among all segregated cemeteries that were once so numerous throughout California (since Chinese Americans were not allowed to be buried in White cemeteries), the Nevada City Chinese American Cemetery is one of the few which still has a burner for paper money and other offerings, and parts of its original fence and gate. It is the only one with a monument to a single individual, who died in 1891 and who must have been quite wealthy and influential. The name on the monument has been defaced by vandals. The size and elaborateness of the monument indicates that this was not intended as a temporary burial site, but as a permanent resting place for the deceased. A History of Chinese Americans in California: Quarantine And Its Aftereffects After the turn of the century, discrimination against Chinese Americans culminated in two acts, the quarantine of San Francisco's Chinatown, and indefinite extension of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. The reason San Francisco's Chinatown was quarantined was that the body of a Chinese laborer was found, and it was suspected that he had died of bubonic plague. While the cause of death was still undetermined, a cordon was placed around Chinatown, and no Chinese American was allowed to leave the area bounded by California, Kearny, Broadway, and Stockton streets. This restricted the freedom of movement of people, some of whom were American citizens. It caused them many hardships, for they had difficulty in obtaining goods and services from people outside Chinatown. There was a shortage of food, and prices increased sharply. Chinese American businessmen faced a loss of income, and workers a loss of wages. Finally, after three and a half months, it was found that there were no cases of bubonic plague within Chinatown. This lengthy quarantine of Chinatown was motivated more by racist images of Chinese as carriers of disease than by actual evidence of the presence of bubonic plague. Chinese American pioneers lived throughout the state of California, wherever there was a chance to earn a living. But they were driven off mining claims, terrorized by vigilantes, removed on short notice from two counties and shipped to San Francisco. Once in San Francisco, they could not live where they pleased, but had to crowd together in one section of the city, the so-called "Chinese Quarter," later referred to as Chinatown. The quarantine represented the final step in segregation of San Francisco's Chinese Americans. The symbolism of the rope cordon was carried forth for four decades as an invisible boundary, beyond which Chinese Americans dared not pass without the risk of being insulted and even physically abused. The Chinese Exclusion Law of 1882 was renewed in 1892 and 1902, and then extended indefinitely in 1904. It prevented Chinese Americans who were not merchants from bringing their families to this country. Since there were far more unmarried Chinese American men than women here, and since the anti-miscegenation laws prevented Chinese American men from marrying White women, it condemned the men to bachelorhood. Recovery From San Francisco Earthquake These events were capped by a natural disaster, the San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906. Virtually all buildings in Chinatown were destroyed, and efforts were made to relocate Chinese Americans from the downtown area to less desirable portions of the city. These efforts failed, and thus represent a turning point in the fortunes of Chinese Americans. Destruction of birth certificates in the earthquake enabled some Chinese Americans to claim citizenship by reason of birth in this country. When the offices of the Chung Sai Yat Pao in San Francisco were destroyed, the newspaper moved to Oakland. Its editor, Dr. Ng Poon Chew, went on to become a spokesman and advocate of civil rights for the Chinese American community. When the offices of the Precita Canning Co. in San Francisco, whose officials and board of directors were all of Chinese ancestry, were destroyed in the earthquake, the company changed its name to the Bay Side Canning Co. and relocated to Alviso in Santa Clara County. It had been founded in 1890 by Sai Yin Chew, whose son, Thomas Foon Chew, later increased the size of its operations to include canning plants in Alviso, Isleton, and Mayfield, and extensive farm lands in the Sacramento Delta. Commodities canned at the Alviso plant were spinach, asparagus, cherries, apricots, plums, peaches, pears, tomatoes, catsup, tomato sauce, hot sauce, tomato puree, fish sauce, fruits for salad, vegetables for salad, and later, fruit cocktail. The Isleton Plant canned mainly spinach and asparagus. The Bay Side Canning Co. was one of the largest canning companies in the early twentieth century, even surpassing Del Monte at one time. One of the unique institutions of San Francisco's Chinatown was the Chinese American Telephone Exchange. In 1891, the first public telephone pay station was installed in Chinatown. In 1894, a small switchboard was set up to serve subscribers to the telephone system. Telephone operators knew each subscriber by name, so telephone numbers were not necessary. They also knew the address and occupations of subscribers so they could distinguish between two subscribers of the same name. In addition, they had to know several Chinese dialects besides English. Although the offices of the exchange were destroyed by the earthquake, they were rebuilt afterward, and remained in operation until 1949. Though the ambitions of many Chinese Americans were thwarted by racism and employment discrimination, these people did not give up. For example, on September 21, 1909, young Chinese American inventor and aviator Fung Joe Guey, circled through the air for 20 minutes back of Piedmont, Alameda County, in a biplane of his own manufacture, embodying his own ideas in aeroplane manufacture. The main focus of this Chinese American Survey is on nineteenth-century Chinese American historic sites. A few twentieth-century sites were included for continuity. Following are a few of the significant events in twentieth-century Chinese American history:
A History of Chinese Americans in California: Arreola, Daniel D. "Locke, California: Persistence and Change in the Cultural Landscape of a Delta Chinatown." M.A. thesis, California State University, Hayward, 1975. Bamford, Mary E.Angel Island, the Ellis Island of the West. Chicago: The Women's American Baptist Home Mission Society, 1917. Bancroft, Hubert Howe.California Inter Pocula. San Francisco: The History Co., 1888. Bonnot, Paul. "The California Shrimp Industry." Fish Bulletin No. 38. Sacramento: Division of Fish and Game of California, 1932. California Commissioners of Fisheries.Annual Report (1878-79). Carosso, Vincent P.The California Wine Industry, 1830-1895, a Study of the Formative Years. Berkeley: 1951. Chinn, Thomas W., editor.A History of the Chinese in California. San Francisco: Chinese Historical Society of America, 1969. Chiu, Ping.Chinese Labor in California. Madison, Wisconsin: 1963. Chu, George. "Chinatowns in the Delta: The Chinese in the Sacramento- San Joaquin Delta, 1870-1960." California Historical Society Quarterly 49:1 (March 1970), pp. 21-37. Collins, J. W. "Report on the Fisheries of the Pacific Coast of the United States." Report of the Commissioner for 1888, U.S. Commission on Fish and Fisheries. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1892. Coolidge, Mary Roberts.Chinese Immigration. New York: Henry Holt, 1909. Cowan, R. E., and Dunlap. B.Bibliography of the Chinese Question. 1909. Dana, Julian.The Sacramento: River of Gold. New York: 1939. Fisher, Anne B.The Salinas, Upside Down River. New York: 1945. Fong, Lincoln. "Aster Production in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties." Unpublished paper, San Mateo Junior College, 1951. Goode, George B.The Fisheries and Fishing Industries of the United States. Vol. 2. Washington: 1887. Goss, Helen R.The Life and Death of a Quicksilver Mine. Los Angeles: 1958. Greenwood, Roberta S. "The Overseas Chinese at Home." Archaeology, Vol. 31, No. 5, pp. 42-49. Griffin, A. P., compiler.List of Books on Chinese Immigration. 1904. Hansen, Gladys and William Heintz.The Chinese in California. San Francisco: Richard Abel & Company, Inc., 1970. Hittell, John S.The Commerce and Industries of the Pacific Coast of North America. San Francisco: 1882. Johnson, Arthur T.California, An Englishman's Impressions of the Golden State. London: 1913. Ledue, Edward. "The Chinese Along the Scott River." Siskiyou Pioneer, 1978. Loomis, Rev. A. G. "How Our Chinamen Are Employed." Overland Monthly, o.s. v. 7 (1869), pp. 231-40. Mason, William. "The Chinese in Los Angeles." Museum Alliance Quarterly, Vol. 6 (1967), pp. 15-20. Mayer, Edith C. "Development of the Raisin Industry in Fresno County, California." Unpublished M.A. thesis, University of California, Berkeley, 1931. McGowan, Joseph A.History of the Sacramento Valley. Vol. 1. New York: 1961. Middlebrook, R. P. "The Chinese at Sorrento." San Diego Historical Society Quarterly, Vol. 10 (Jan. 1964), pp. 9-13. Miller, Charlotte T. "Grapes, Queues, and Quicksilver." Unpublished manuscript, 1966. Nash, Robert A.The Chinese Shrimp Fishery in California. Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles, 1973. Ng, Pearl. "Writings on the Chinese in California." Unpublished M.A. thesis, 1939. Nordhoff, Charles. "Northern California." Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. 68 (Dec. 1873 - May 1874), pp. 35-45. Ochs, Patricia M. "A History of Chinese Labor in San Luis Obispo County." Unpublished manuscript, California State Polytechnic College, 1966. Oefinger, Catherine C. "The Flower Industry of San Mateo County." Unpublished paper, San Mateo Junior College, 1941. Page, Henry M.Pasadena, Its Early Years. 1964. Pflueger, Donald.Glendora, The Annals of a Southern California Community. 1951.
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