Throughout the informative paper “Public Health and The Mapping of Chinatown,” author Nayan Shah is able to convey the struggles that Chinese immigrants faced while living in San Franciso’s Chinatown and the impact it had on society as a whole. Shah begins by explaining that as soon as there were enough Chinese immigrants to develop Chinatown, there was an immediate concern and many sought out an investigation to prove the Chinese lived in filth. News intel, like the Daily Alta California, frequently reported on the national cholera epidemic and associated the blame with the Chinese, warning others of the danger they possess in spreading diseases. At the time, members of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association worked hard to create …show more content…
William Rabe… demanded that the Common Council immediately investigate the Chinese settlement in the city” when there were only 2,000 Chinese individuals living in this area, yet this was enough to catch the attention of doctors and council officials (Shah, 171). Shah proves the American fear of the Chinese people by explaining “the city council’s unusual requirement that they build outside city limits… and in the end refused any plans for a Chinese hospital” due to the descriptions of the filthy living conditions alongside the plethora of rumors within the city (Shah, 174). The author explains that Bates, a health officer in a high position of power, created “comparisons to farm animals, feeding a perception not only of Chinese immigrant’s inferiority but also of their inhumanity” and uses visual descriptors to create an overarching image of the Chinese rather than purely uses fact-based evidence (Shah, 175). In addition, the writer disproves Thomas Logan’s investigation by his incorrect view of “behavior and body as both the cultural and biological heritage of the Chinese ‘race’” and how his “vivid and visceral narration of the midnight journey through Chinatown became one of the stand forms of knowledge used in both medical and popular accounts to establish the truth of Chinatown as the preeminent site of vice, immorality, degradation, crime, and disease (Shah, 177). It is explained that Logan’s eyewitness and use of overexaggerated descriptors were widely accepted without any real statistical evidence or proof. With all of these accounts of the Chinese spread throughout the city by health officials, city officials, and everyday people, the Chinese were viewed as more than dirty, but
Chapter six examines the anti-Chinese sentiment with the emerging class antagonism and turmoil between white capitalists and workers. The unwelcomed arrival of Chinese immigrants brought along their own social organizations such as the huiguan, fongs, and tongs. These types of social organizations secured areas of employment and housing for Chinese immigrants in California. This social structure that was unknown to Anglos led them to also categorize Chinese on the same level as Indians by depicting them as lustful heathens whom were out to taint innocent white women. These images were also perpetuated onto Chinese women, thus, also sexualizing them as all prostitutes.
While San Francisco has a convoluted ranked-choice system allowing for instant runoffs, the result was not too much in doubt, with Lee beating progressive candidate John Avalos by nearly 30,000 votes. Of course, much of this was due to high Asian-American turnout, with Rose Pak estimated that “80% of Asian-Americans would vote for Lee”. Shortly after this Mayor Lee began to transform from the boring bureaucrat that he was mostly known for. To explain this change, one must take a look at the demographic changes currently roiling San Francisco. Rose Pak’s official title is “Consultant to the Chinese Chamber of Commerce”, essentially meaning that she is an advocate for Chinese-Owned businesses, which tend to be more blue-collar, who end up living in lower-income areas, such as Chinatown.
In1924animmigrationactwasimplementedto totally restrict the Asians from entering the United States of America. During the Second World War over 120000 Asian Americans were imprisoned on grounds that they were enemy aliens. 65% of the imprisoned victims were American born citizens. This book therefore talks about the Asian American experiences and difficulties they faced living in a society that was driven by racial prejudice. The fact that the American government was able to cover up the crime against the Chinese miners despite their efforts to
In The Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire it states “Any who ventured out beyond its borders risked A severe beating, or worse by white street thugs.” This proves that if the chinese left chinatowns border they will most likely be beaten and mugged by gang members and no one else will care because no one liked the chinese and they were racist. In Dragonwings it states “My own grandfather has been murdered about thirty years before by a mob of white demons almost the moment he had set foot on their shores.” This proves that in both stories the chinese have been beaten or even worse killed just
Section 1: Identification and Evaluation of Sources This investigation will examine the research question: “To what extent did the Chinese Exclusion Acts and the Geary Act impact the conceptions of society on Chinese immigrants?”. The Chinese Exclusion Act and the continuation of it (Geary Acts), caused Chinese immigrants to have their reputations tarnished and led to the demise of societal views of Chinese immigrants in the United States. A document from Congress and signed by President Chester A. Arthur, that outlines the Chinese Exclusion Act, “Chinese Exclusion Acts (1882)”.
The Chinatown-Lake Merritt area is very populated. There was a variety of many different kinds of people- differences that ranged from race to gender, from age to height, and from dressing style to personalities, and from transportation to job. Laconically speaking, the greatest difference of the Chinatown-Lake Merritt area was the transportation. Near American Indian Public Charter School II were two people sorting luggage in the trunk of their car. There were many different kinds of cars and trucks on the hectic streets.
In 1900’s Chicago the problems that this caused were massive. The Jungle reveals that many public officers were venal and bribing was rampant. This resulted in horrible working conditions and no legal justice for immigrants and other workers. Sinclair describes the effects that capitalism can have on immigrants through the Rudkus family.
According to Anderson, Vancouver's European society perceived the Chinese settlement based on the culture of race and created a social concept known as "Chinatown". Even though there was no accurate evidence that Chinese people were somehow different or dangerous for the rest of the Vancouver, the authorities and researchers believed that they were. There were several reasons why White Canadians were racist towards Chinese population. Chinese is described by Anderson as "a racially visible and culturally distinct minority", which made White Canadians believe that they are different. The article proves that there is no significant biological or genetical difference between races, however since Chinese were racially visible, White Canadians
“Trying to FInd Chinatown” written in 1996 by David Henry Hwang, deals with racial identity. According to the dictionary, one’s identity consist of the qualities and beliefs that distinguish one person or group from another. In his play, Hwang created two characters who have different ideas of what those qualities and beliefs are. In the story Benjamin identifies himself as Asian, even though he is descent of Asian genetics.
The horrific murder of Vincent Chin suggests that people are ignorant to the fact that numerous ethnic groups exist within the same “race.” They view all Asian Americans as the same race despite there being different ethnic groups, such as Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese. As a result, anti-Japanese sentiment meant discrimination towards all Asian Americans in general because to Whites, they all “looked the same.” Chin was in a club celebrating his upcoming wedding before he was savagely attacked by two white men who accused him of “stealing” their jobs. At this time, due the influx of Japanese immigrants as a result of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, many Whites lost their jobs, especially in the automobile industry.
One of this week’s readings focused on Ch. 5, “Caged Birds,” in Professor Lytle Hernandez’s book City of Inmates: Conquest, Rebellion, and the Rise of Human Caging in Los Angeles, 1771-1965, and this chapter was particularly interesting because it further explained the development of immigration control in the United States. As a continuation from the last chapter, there was a huge emphasis in the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the Geary Act of 1892. This essentially prohibited Chinese laborers from immigrating to the United States, as well as eventually requiring these people to comply with regulations. “Caged Birds” encapsulates the events afterwards, as the book heads well into the early-1900’s. The disenfranchisement of immigrants develops towards further exclusivity because “[by] 1917, Congress had banned all Asian immigration to the Unites States and also categorically prohibited all prostitutes, convicts, anarchists, epileptics, ‘lunatics,’ ‘
These institutions were a way for Chinese immigrants to cling to their culture and allow them to seek economic and social improvement. “During the 1850s, Chinatowns in San Francisco was already a bustling colony of thirty-general merchandise stores, fifteen apothecaries, five restaurants, five herb shops, three boarding houses, five butcher stores, and three tailor shops” (Takaki, Pg.195). Certainly, these establishments exemplify the commitments made by the Chinese population as to developing an infrastructure for proceeding generations. These close net communities were often designed to establish social ties to the United States; ideally, the earlier mindset of many Chinese immigrants had changed; however, for some Chinese immigrants, they were uncertain of their future in the country and as a result “the Chinese tended to invest their money in personal property rather than in land, preferring to take long leases in order to sublet” (Chinese in America Life, Pg. 202). As this mindset was only the minority of the Chinese population, many immigrants contributed to the development of Chinatown by creating their own businesses.
The book recounts Riis’s life after immigrating to the United States from Denmark in 1870. When Riis first immigrated to the United States, he took low-paying jobs and during this time, experienced utter poverty in New York City. After rising in social standing, Riis found work as a police reporter for the New York Tribune; his work frequently brought him to the most dangerous slums in New York City. Using journalism as a platform, Riis tried to show his readers what life was like in these dangerous and poverty-stricken urban areas. While Riis tried to expose the harsh condition of the slums, he often succumbed to prejudice and stereotypes.
Lee Chew lived in a unique time period for chinese immigrants in America, preceding the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and living in America after it passed. He was then confronted whether to live in America with the hope of wealth but no hope of being with his family or move back to China. This time period is recorded in a first person biography about Chew’s life, titled Life of a Chinese Immigrant. This primary source was published in a journal, The Independent in 1903. Chew had a very significant encounter with American wealth when a villager brought back huge wealth to the village after going to America.
The Transcontinental Railroad, in construction from 1862 to 1869, was a major part of American History, as it revolutionized the way that trade and travel are conducted in America. For a very large part of history, the white workers on the railroad have gotten most of the credit for the completion of the project. However, the Chinese workers have been often overlooked. They did most of the most intensive work on the Transcontinental Railroad, received significantly worse treatment than white workers, but have not typically gotten as much recognition as their white peers. Though there is very little left behind from these workers, they have had a large impact on American history, not just for Asian Americans, but for America as a whole.