“The ability of the Chinese to work these mines through large-scale projects surprised the American miners. Teams of workers used pine trees to build wing dams of up to two hundred yards across streams. They also developed a chain pump, which was turned by a man on each side working a treadmill of four spokes on the same axle. Through this kind of teamwork, the Chinese miners were able to make a living where individual American miners could not.”
- Ruthanne Lum McCunn, author of An Illustrated History of Chinese in America
“[The Chinese] are very trusty, “As a class they are quiet, peaceable, patient, industrious... |
Click on any image to enlarge
|
“By 1867, 12,000 Chinese, representing 90 percent of the workforce, were building the railroad.”
- Erika Lee, author of The Making of Asian America
“The Chinaman was welcomed; he was considered quite indispensable.
Governor McDougall referred to him as 'one of the most worthy of our newly adopted citizens.'”
- Andrew Gyory, author of Closing the Gate: Race, Politics and the Chinese Exclusion Act
“In 1868, the Burlingame treaty was entered into between the United States and China. It provided for reciprocal exemption from persecution on account of religious belief, the privilege of schools and colleges, and in fact it agreed that every Chinese citizen in the United States should have every privilege which was expected by the American citizen in China.” |
Click on image to enlarge
|
“Once the rail construction was completed, |
“[The Chinese] cooked in restaurants, washed clothes in laundries, and worked as servants in people’s homes. They farmed, fished, and did factory or construction work.” |
“The Panic of 1873 provided evidence that mild hostility toward a foreign people could escalate into outright violence when an economy soured and people were in fear of losing their jobs.” |
“By the summer of 1877 San Francisco had become a city of job-hunters–miners, farmhands, laborers of every kind, including the hated Chinese.” |
“The politicians wanted the workingmen’s votes.
They were glad to use the Chinese who could not vote as their scapegoat.
They blamed the Chinese for California’s economic problems.
They started passing laws against the Chinese.”
-Ruthanne Lum McCunn, author of An Illustrated History of Chinese in America
“In 1850, the first California state legislature passed the first Foreign Miners Tax Law, levying a twenty dollars per month tax on each foreigner engaged in mining.” Unlike European immigrants, Chinese miners were easy to spot
and forced to pay. “A revolt resulted and it was repealed in 1851... [but] reenacted in 1852... By 1853 the Foreign Miner's Tax stated, "The amount to be paid for each license shall be... four dollars per month, and said license shall in no case be transferable." |
In 1870, “the Cubic Air Ordinance, a city ordinance requiring This law targeted the Chinese since Chinatown housing was small and cramped. |
“The Queue Ordinance of 1873 outlawed the wearing of long braids by men, a Chinese custom.” This law disgraced Chinese men so they were unable to return to their homeland.
|
“The Laundry Ordinance of 1870 required laundries employing horse-drawn vehicles to pay $1 tax per quarter; those with Unable to afford horse-drawn carts, many Chinese had to pay high taxes.
|