Persistence Against Prejudice: Striking, Adapting, and Surviving

Surviving in a foreign country requires flexible adaptation and eventual assimilation into the culture after a long period of time. Immigration from China into the United States experienced many stages of evolution against the historical backdrop of xenophobia and nativism. Honing in on the broad overview of what attracted the flow of Chinese people to the West, it is necessary to be able to visualize the lives and works of the migrants.

Chinese immigration to the United States was marked by substantial gender imbalance: a ratio of about 21 men for one woman. Consequently, this gender imbalance led to many bachelor societies and surrogate families. Chinese immigrants developed family networks with others in their surroundings not related by blood. This helped form societies in Chinatown that provided housing, financial support, and protection in a foreign environment. The initial immigrants assumed that they would only be in the United States for a short period of time and left their wives in China with their parents. The Page Law of 1875 was a piece of legislation that prevented the immigration of prostitutes, criminals, and forced laborers on the surface. In reality, it was used to target the immigration of Chinese women. As time passed, these immigrants wanted to bring their wives over, but President Chester A. Arthur approved the infamous Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. This act required Chinese immigrants to provide certificates from the Chinese government that proved their eligibility to immigrate. If they went back to China, they also had to reenter with a certificate. Moreover, it refused citizenship for Chinese residents. Subsequent discriminatory acts were passed to limit Chinese immigration, such as the Johnson-Reed Act in 1924, which established quotas. These exclusion acts also caused stronger transnational families: the husband would work for money and send remittances back home, while the wife took care of the family in China. Chinese immigrants not solely aimed to assimilate to American society, but rather sought to use resources in America to improve their social standings at home. Many aimed to return home after earning enough money to start businesses in China, not knowing that a series of exclusion acts and endless labor would lead to long-term settlements. Nevertheless, wives were burdened with the responsibility of household management even while suffering from emotional isolation, and many children grew up without knowing their fathers in-depth, creating generational disconnect.

Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 primary document. “An Act to Execute Certain Treaty Stipulations Relating to Chinese (Chinese Exclusion Act),” May 6, 1882. General Records of the United States Government; Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration (NAID: 5752153).

Certificate of Residence “Certificate of Residence No. 28186 for John Chu,” March 5, 1894. Donated by Douglas J. Chu. Courtesy of the Museum of Chinese in America (moca.org).

A photograph of President Coolidge signing the Johnson-Reed Act in 1924. “President Coolidge signing bills on the South Lawn,” 1924. National Photo Company Collection. Courtesy of the Library of Congress via Wikimedia Commons.

Cheap Chinese laborers in factories also fueled nativist sentiments. Chinese immigrants occupied low-status jobs in segmented firms like woolens, which are small-scale businesses in charge of one specific stage of production. In contrast, white people made up the high-status workforce. Due to firm-to-firm competition, white factory workers had to hire cheap Chinese labor to compete with Chinese businesses. Nonetheless, as Chinese laborers gained experience, learned English, and started forming their own labor associations, the wage gap decreased. Eventually, white factory owners stopped defending Chinese laborers and allowed for exclusion acts to be passed.

Discussions of the California Gold Rush and Transcontinental Railroad would be incomplete without the narratives and contributions of Chinese migrants. These migrant laborers banded together in tight communities. They maintained organization and discipline while facing harsh working conditions and discrimination. Facing hostility and exclusion, these workers pooled the money they earned to buy fresh, nutritious foods to sustain a traditional Chinese diet, boiled their water and drank tea that aided the prevention of contracting illness from contaminated water, and held themselves to high hygiene expectations. Near the California Gold Rush arose San Francisco’s Chinatown. Many immigrants opened up small businesses there, like restaurants. At first, they faced accusations and stereotypes created by white labor unions and media propaganda portraying them as lesser human beings for eating cats, dogs, and rats. To retaliate and break down initial stereotypes, Chinese restaurant owners cooperated with Chinese diplomats to target influential and elite white people. They opened up high-end banquets to rebrand the idea that visiting Chinese restaurants marked sophistication. Moreover, they adapted Chinese foods to suit American tastes, which resulted in the popularity of chop suey houses.

A photograph of Chinese and white gold miners at Auburn Ravine in 1852. Image: "Head of Auburn Ravine," 1852. Photographed by Joseph Blaney Starkweather. Courtesy of the California State Library via the California Digital Library, accessed via the Digital Public Library of America.

A photograph of the officers of the Chinese Six Companies at Chinatown. Image courtesy of the Roy D. Graves pictorial collection: Chinese and Chinatown, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley (CALL NUMBER: BANC PIC 1905.17500 v.29:104–ALB).

Champion Chinese Hose Team of America that won the great Hub-and-Hub race at Deadwood, Dakota on July 4th, 1888. Grabill, John C. H, photographer. Hose team. The champion Chinese Hose Team of America, who won the great Hub-and-Hub race at Deadwood, Dak., July 4th. Deadwood South Dakota, 1888. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/99613961/.

A San Francisco Chinatown advertisement. “Newsprint Advertisement for Mandarin Theater and other San Francisco Chinatown businesses,” 1933. Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration (NAID: 354521240).

A cartoon showing anti-immigrant sentiments in the nineteenth century. White & Bauer, The great fear of the period That Uncle Sam may be swallowed by foreigners: The problem solved (ca. 1860–1869). Courtesy of the Library of Congress, LC-DIG-pga-03047.

A photograph of Chinatown's chop suey houses. Chinatown c. 1943 s2-079-011" by AC Transit from Oakland, CA, USA is licensed under CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/).

A photograph of Chinatown in 2006. "Grant Ave. in Chinatown, San Francisco," 2006. Photographed by Daniel Schwen. Used under CC BY-SA 2.5 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/deed.en).

A photograph of Chinatown in 1910. Image: "Grant near California," ca. 1910. Photographer Unknown. Courtesy of OpenSFHistory / Western Neighborhoods Project (Image ID: wnp27.5668).

The work of transcontinental railroad workers meant dangerous conditions, including explosions and landslides. Initially, the Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) was reluctant to hire Chinese immigrants due to anti-immigrant sentiments. Soon, these immigrants obtained a reputation for being efficient, reliable, and resilient. Still, they worked for 30% less than their white counterparts. Yet while these Chinese immigrants tried their best to assimilate into their new environment, they stood up for their own rights as well. They organized strikes for higher pay and reduced work times. To demonstrate, the 1867 Chinese Labor strike was an eight-day labor strike performed by about 3,000 Chinese railroad workers. The accumulated dissatisfaction of intense labor and low pay erupted after a massive tunnel explosion on June 19, 1867, causing the deaths of one white worker and five Chinese workers. This was a non-violent strike based on Confucius’ teachings. Ultimately, the strike ended after food, supplies, and transportation were cut off for the camps that the workers lived in and the threat of no pay for June. In spite of the workers’ apparent initial defeat, the strike wasn’t a complete failure. The company raised the wages of some workers and reduced the original eleven-hour workday discreetly in the following months. This event demonstrated that Chinese laborers were not going to be compliant and submissive when confronting mistreatment. In addition, this strike inspired more acts of resistance from Chinese laborers under other railway projects.

Printing of Central Pacific Railroad advertisement. Image courtesy of the Bruce C. Cooper Collection, digitized by the Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum (CPRR.org). 1881 Union Pacific & Central Pacific Railroad Line Timetable.

A photograph of Chinese railroad wokers laying the last rail. Image: "Chinese laying the last rail on May 10, 1869." Photographed by Andrew J. Russell. Courtesy of the Kyle Watt Collection, as featured in the UC San Diego Geisel Library Digital Archives.

A photograph of three Chinese railroad workers that laid the last rail at the 50th Anniversary of the transcontinental railroad. Image: "Ging Cui, Wong Fook, and Lee Shao at the 50th Anniversary of the Golden Spike (Ogden, Utah)," May 10, 1919. Courtesy of the Amon Carter Museum of American Art Archives, as curated and accessed via the UC San Diego Geisel Library Digital Exhibition.

In the United States, Chinese immigrants in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries aspired for a better life through dedication in their work, collaboration and support with one another, and strategic moves against anti-immigrant sentiments. In the contemporary period, immigration from China to the United States continues to rise. The spirit of our predecessors is preserved in the Chinese American community.