Packet #2-Chinese Immigration and Working in the Mines

Group #2 – Chinese Immigration & Working in the Mineslaborers.. Group #2 – Chinese Immigration & Working in the MinesChinese Camp in the Mines” Artist: J.D.. Group #2 – Chinese Immigrati

Excerpt from an article in Westways magazine

For the Chinese who came to California, it

was frequently a life of hardship, deprivation

and abuse at the hands of the white man With

his strange dress and incomprehensible tongue,

“John Chinaman” was a natural object of

suspicion When times were bad he often

became the target of harsh economic sanctions

More than once, he was the unfortunate

scapegoat when a wrathful lynch mob was

looking for a victim Like the Americans and

the Europeans, the Chinese were lured to

California by the prospects of rich mines and

high wages In the mining camps, already

overcrowded, the reception to the Chinese was

usually hostile

As a result, some Chinese worked abandoned

claims when the white men had moved on

Others became laborers and domestics, or

established business enterprises such as

laundries, markets and restaurants Through

patience, perseverance and a business acumen

that was the envy of many an American, the

Chinese survived and prospered in the new land

The “Strangers” Among Them

By, Doyce B Nunis, Jr.

GOLD! GOLD! GOLD! THERE’S GOLD IN

CALIFORNIA! The cry went round the world

distant lands struck out for the fabled El Dorado When the report of President James K Polk’s official confirmation of the discovery

was published in the Honolulu Polynesian, June

24, the islands were quickly drained of their susceptible adventurers By the end of the year twenty-two vessels departed Honolulu for San Francisco

.

Soon they were joined by people from all over the world, looking for gold People arrived from Chile, Mexico, the British Isles, Germany, France and China.

Among the first legislative proposals introduced in California under American rule was “An Act for the better regulation of the mines and mining, until the action of the United States Congress shall be had thereon.” Submitted to the State Senate on February 8, 1850….The statute was labelled the Foreign Miners’ Tax

…(E)ach foreigner would be required to purchase a license fixed at $20 a month Failure

to comply would result in imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months and a fine of not more than $1,000 The law was to be effective until Congress passed a similar measure The object was clear: only Americans had the right to free mining

The renewal of the Foreign Miners’ Tax in

1852 undoubtedly was provoked by the abrupt increase in Chinese emigration to California At first the Chinese were welcomed as a ready source of cheap labor Gradually, Chinese

pre-empted the Kanakas (Hawaiians) and Indians as

Watercolors by Jake Lee “When the Chinese Came to

California,” Westways Magazine Automobile

Club of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA,

Vol 55 (Sept 1963) pp 6-7.

Group #2 – Chinese Immigration & Working in the Mines

laborers The 1850 census tabulated only 660

Chinese; the 1860 census registered 34, 935

The few Chinese who made their way to

California at the height of the Gold Rush were

inexperienced and worked mostly the poorer

claims To finance their passage, they signed

contracts which bound them to repay costs at

high interest rates Poor and illiterate, their

presence in the mines was tolerated at first

Overt hostility was extremely rare then

J.D Borthwick in his Three Years in

California remarked that the Chinese were

almost feminine in the way they handled their

tools, “As if they were afraid of hurting

themselves.” Their inability to work long hours

without periodic rests, coupled with their

aversion to working in water or in heat and their

inefficiency in handling mechanical devices,

limited their daily mining results They were

content with $2 a day

But anti-Chinese sentiment was not long in

exploding The first incident reputedly took

place as early as 1849 A British company

employed about sixty Chinese laborers to work

under Sonoran supervisors at Chinese Camp,

Tuolumne County A party of irate white miners

drove the laborers from the mines In 1852

there was organized agitation—the adoption of

the Columbia Resolution—even though Chinese

emigration had been extremely light until that

year In 1849, 325 arrivals are recorded, 450 in

1850, and 2,700 in 1851 But before the end of

1852, 20,000 Chinese arrived This sudden

influx “had an electrifying effect in California.”

Governor John Bigler dispatched a special

message to the legislature on the pressing matter

of “coolie” or contract labor The re-enactment

of the tax on foreign miners was one result The

Chinese question was to prove a continuing

dilemma for California throughout the

remaining decades of the nineteenth century Its final solution was Congressional adoption of the exclusion policy The seeds of that restrictive immigration policy were sown in Gold-Rush California

The enormous influx of foreigners—strangers to the Americans -during the California Gold Rush greatly enriched the history of the state Even though a vast number of these emigrants returned to their native land, perhaps wiser than richer, many remained to provide the basis for the expanded cosmopolitan population that has distinctly marked California No state in the Union can point to an overnight “melting pot” environment comparable to that of the California Gold Rush

Doyce B Nunis, Jr “The ‘Strangers’ Among Them,” Westways Magazine Automobile Club of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, Vol 59 (May 1967)

pp 24-27.

“The Heathen Chinee Prospecting.” Eadweard Muybridge, c1852 This photograph was probably taken near Jacksonville, Tuloumne Co or Mongolian Flat on the American River in California.

Library of Congress, Digital ID# cubcic chs405

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?cic:1:./temp/~ammem_p6Tp::

Group #2 – Chinese Immigration & Working in the Mines

Chinese Camp in the Mines” Artist: J.D Borthwick.

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?cic:1:./temp/~ammem_q5Nv ::

Library of Congress; Digital ID cubcic chs414

“A company of Chinese have been building a log cabin near us for several days past They are mostly young men apparently of good “blood” and very polite towards us I like to talk with them and ask them hundreds of questions about their native land, for they are intelligent and one of them speaks good English Most of them wear long cues (braids), neatly braided, and hung in little knots at the end I asked one of them the reason of wearing his hair short “In Amelica me wear ‘em cut In China all sem oder Chinaman.”

(Diary of Timothy Coffin Osborne Thursday, December 26, 1850)

“Chinese man mining along the river.” From Views of the American West The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/flipomatic/cic/images@ViewImage?img=brk00002970_16a

Journal Entry with transcription of Chinese characters

Written by Timothy Coffin Osborne (1827-1864)

“Journal Published June 14, 1850-January 1, 1885

Website: The Chinese in America, 1950-1925

http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/flipomatic/cic/brk5262

Group #2 – Chinese Immigration & Working in the Mines

"Chinese Public School Children About 1890." Photographed by Isaiah West Taber Accessed through the Library of Congress http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?cic:2:./temp/~ammem_ppMl ::

Digital ID: cubcic chs397

"Their First Photograph.": From San Francisco Chinatown (1895-1906): Arnold Genthe Photos No 1 (Camera Shy Chinese)

CREATED/PUBLISHED 1895-1906 California Historical Society, Accessed through Library of Congress

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?cic:1:./temp/~ammem_Gi9e :: Digital ID # cubcic chs9

“Chinese Couple, seated” c1891? Accessed through the Library of Congress.

http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/flipomatic/cic/images@ViewImage?img=brk00003922_16a

Chan Kwan On: certificate to enter U.S.: From Immigration documents miscellany (c 1897-1898)

Ethnic Studies Library, University of California, Berkeley

Accessed through the Library of Congress http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/flipomatic/cic/brk3853

Group #2 – Chinese Immigration & Working in the Mines

U.S Immigration Station, Angel Island, San Francisco Bay View showing wharf and main buildings

Photographs from the Hart Hyatt North papers: Angel Island Created/Published: 1890-1943

The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, Accessed through the Library of Congress

Digital ID: cubcic brk1187

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D? cic:12:./temp/~ammem_i7PG ::

Dormitory- Angel Island

U.S Immigration Station, Angel Island, San Francisco Bay Dormitory Photographs from the

Digital ID: cubcic brk1197

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?cic:1:./temp/~ammem_i7PG::

“Searching Chinese immigrants for opium, at San Francisco” Chinese emigration to America: sketch on board the steam-ship Alaska, bound for San Francisco: From Views of Chinese published in “The Graphic and Harper's Weekly” (Created/Published April 29, 1876) Accessed from the Library of Congress.

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?cic:1:./temp/~ammem_IZdc::

Digital ID: cubcic brk7176

Group #2 – Chinese Immigration & Working in the Mines

1848 The Gold Rush begins with the discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill, drawing many fortune seekers

including the Chinese to California.

The discovery of gold spurred a mass migration of people into the State of California In 1850,

of the 57,000 people who migrated to California, only 500 were Chinese Four years later, approximately 20,000 Chinese migrated to the United States

1852 20,000 Chinese enter the United States, mostly California; only 17 are women.

1861-1865

American Civil War; 51 Chinese soldiers fought.

Among the Chinese soldiers who fought in the American Civil War were Privates Edward Day Cohota and Joseph L Pierce

Edward Cohota fought in the Battle of Drury’s Bluff (1864) and the Battle of Cold Harbor (1864) Despite having served in the U.S Army for over 30 years, he died without ever becoming naturalized due to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

Joseph L Pierce enlisted in the 14th Connecticut Infantry in August 1862, and fought in the famed Battle of Gettysburg, the bloodiest battle of the Civil War

Note: Both men were recognized by the U.S House of Representatives for their contributions in 2009.

1862 California imposes a Police Tax of $2.50 a month on all Chinese.

The Police Tax was entitled: “An Act to Protect Free White Labor Against Competition with Chinese Coolie Labor, and to Discourage the Immigration of the Chinese into the State of

California.”

The law imposed a monthly tax only on adults of the “Mongolian race” who worked in mines or most businesses

1862 The 13th Amendment abolishes slavery

1865-1869 The Transcontinental Railroad recruits thousands of Chinese laborers.

1866 Civil Rights Act grants persons of “every race and color” eligible for citizenship all privileges to

make contracts, hold property and testify in court The law does not apply to Chinese.

1870 Nationality Act specifies that only “free white” and African “aliens” are eligible for

naturalization.

1876 The Southern Pacific Railroad connects San Francisco and Los Angeles Hundreds of Chinese

railroad workers move to Los Angeles.

1879 Los Angeles County votes against Chinese immigration 98% to 2%.

Dennis Kearney establishes the Los Angeles chapter of the Workingman’s Party, known as the Anti-Chinese Union.

The Workingman’s Party of California established chapters throughout California The Party was popularly known for opposing Capitalism and scapegoating the Chinese for low wages In San Francisco, its numerous demonstrations led to riots that attacked Chinese businesses and homes and even threatened to burn down San Francisco’s Chinatown Its anti-Chinese views spread beyond California, and eventually contributed to the political climate for the enactment

of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

1882 Congress passes the Chinese Exclusion Act to suspend immigration of Chinese laborers.

Chinese laborers in the U.S were also not allowed to bring their wives or children to America However, a small number of non-laborers, such as merchants, government officials, teachers, students, clergy and travelers, were allowed to visit the U.S with proper documentation The Act also denied the Chinese already in America the right to naturalization and established the right to deport them

The Chinese Exclusion Act marked the first time that the U.S has ever barred entry of a group of people based on their ethnicity

Group #2 – Chinese Immigration & Working in the Mines

Note: The act was finally repealed in 1943, when the U.S and China were allies during World War II.

1885 California law creates segregated schools for Chinese and other Asian children.

1886 The U.S Supreme Court rules in Yick Wo v Hopkins, that San Francisco’s refusal to grant Chinese

Laundrymen permits was discriminatory and unconstitutional.

In 1880, the city of San Francisco passed a law requiring all laundry operators working from wooden buildings to obtain permits Although 2/3 of all of San Francisco’s laundries were operated by Chinese people, no Chinese operator was granted a permit Yick Wo, a Chinese immigrant, was convicted, fined, and later jailed for operating his business without a permit He successfully sued the City On appeal, the U.S Supreme Court ruled that the administration of the law violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S Constitution

1888 Scott Act prohibits the return of 20,000 Chinese laborers who had left the United States.

The Scott Act permanently banned Chinese immigration to the U.S and denied Chinese laborers who left the U.S from returning After its passage, about 20,000 Chinese who had temporarily left the U.S could not re-enter

1898 Wong Kim Ark v U.S rules that anyone born in the United States cannot be stripped of

citizenship.

When Wong Kim Ark, a Chinese American born in San Francisco, visited China in 1894, he was refused re-entry to the U.S., because U.S officials considered him a Chinese national and not a U.S citizen His case went to the U.S Supreme Court, which ruled that any child born in the U.S

is granted U.S citizenship Since Wong was born in the U.S., the Chinese Exclusion Act could not strip him of his citizenship

1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire destroys Chinese immigration records.

In 1906, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit San Francisco Damage from the earthquake and ensuing fires destroyed most of the city’s structures, including the Hall of Records and its birth and immigration records