Chinese Immigrants in California: Decades of Discrimination - Essay Sample

Introduction

In the decades after the discovery of gold first brought Chinese to California, the State's newspapers repeatedly denigrated, Asian immigrants. Sensationalist accounts attacked the Chinese newcomers on many grounds, with the sex trafficking of Chinese women serving as one focal point. By the 1870s, the anti-Chinese sentiment was fired by adverse press reports, built into a political movement to expel Chinese from the United States, or severely restrict further immigration from China. Beaten, bound, and broken are some of the images that dominated the media and the public imagination. Equally popular then is the shadowy underground figures of influential individuals representing the favorable conditions where the secret deals were made involving the sale of human beings, the highest percentage being women and children. The possibility of hyperbole and stereotyping cannot be overruled in some of the depictions, but it is all rooted in truth. This paper recovers press coverage about sex trafficking. It also examines how it shaped the anti-Chinese agitation rhetoric that culminated in the passage of the Exclusion Act of 1882.

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Background

While overseeing the construction of a Saw Mill at the Sutter’s Mill, California territory on January 8, 1848, James W. Marshall struck gold (The Gold Rush, 2018). The discovery of these traces of precious metal at the bottom of the American River initiated massive migration of miners and settlers into California's territory in search of the precious metal which came to be known as the goldrush (The Gold Rush, 2018). The Gold Rush had one of the most transformative effects in California, transforming the territory's landscape and population, introducing vices like violence between the locals and immigrants, and the introduction of sex trafficking. Surprisingly, this Gold Rush lasted a brief period between 1848 and 1855 (The Gold Rush, 2018).

The Asians started arriving in America in substantial numbers in the mid-1800s by being drawn to the American dreams of good jobs and wealth related to the California Gold Rush of 1848 to 1855 (McKeown & Ryo, 2008). They were also drawn to the booming construction industry, particularly the development of the Central Pacific Rail Road between 1863 and 1869 (McKeown & Ryo, 2008). Initially, the Chinese were met with a mixed feeling of enthusiasm as well as curiosity. They were deemed few, simple, and exotic addition to the diverse population gathering in Northern California (McKeown & Ryo, 2008). As their number increased, they became the targets of racial hatred, which led to physical attacks, including mob attacks, mass expulsion, and lynching. The hostility vetted against the Chinese was founded on the white perception of the immigrants' economic threat, cultural threat. A platform in 1870 of the anti-Chinese convention, held in San Francisco, stated that the system of importing Asiatic coolies into the Pacific States, or into any portion of the United States, is in every respect harmful and degrading to American labor, as it introduced unjust and ruinous competition. (McKeown & Ryo, 2008). The belief that the Chinese possessed cultural and biological inferiority had been deeply engraved in the people that by 1875 Page Law was established stating that “the policy of direct federal regulation of immigration by prohibiting for the first time the entry of undesirable immigrants,” (Luibhéid, 2002 p. 31).

The immigrants who were identified as undesirable were the individuals categorized as the criminals, contract laborers, and the Chinese women immigrating to work as prostitutes. However, the contract laborers' provisions and those of the convicts had unfelt effects compared to the vigorously enforced restrictions on the Chinese women immigrating to work as prostitutes. It had a conspicuous impact on Asian females' capability to settle and served as the harbinger of numerous forms of sexuality founded on the immigration exclusion act (Luibhéid, 2002, p. 31). The idea that the Page Legislation targeted the Chinese women amidst other women from other nationalities practicing prostitution intersected with other forms of social hierarchy. Indeed, as depicted in chapter one of the Page Law, was a harbinger of sexual, ethnic, racial, gender, and a class exclusion modified by the subsequent immigration laws. Further, the Chinese migration was termed as the Yellow Peril, Chinese invasion, and Yellow terror, leading to the formation of famous slogans: "The Chinese Must Go!" in the preceding rallies (McKeown & Ryo, 2008). The Chinese retaliated on the mounting attacks through community actions and legal battles to tackle the problems of discrimination from the locals and the State's laws specially formulated to expel them.

In an account of trying to recapture how Chinese women were brought to the US, the media reported that "from the evidence, in this case, I find that the appellant is a Chinese woman. She was sold as a slave by her foster mother, in China, and was by her purchaser, with the assistance of another Chinaman, brought into the United States for immoral purposes,” (McKeown & Ryo, 2008). Further, the media reported that besides the powerful Chinese men bringing these naïve women into the United States, they would subject them to severe physical and mental abuse to compel them to earn money for the growing number of "houses of ill."

America West was overwhelmingly populated by single males who had immigrated to work in the mines, driving, or lumbering (Yamin, & Seifert, 2019). Thus, commercial sex's predominance was fueled by a severe shortage of women who would be deemed as wives. By the late 19 century and even in the early 20th century, it was a widespread belief that men without wives needed the regular sexual services of women in exchange for money. Sexual relief was deemed therapeutic and was at a great length, considered an essential function in matters of physical health and wellbeing. Thus, the demographics steered by the social organization created a different social and cultural environment, impacting a lot on cultural behavior (Yamin, & Seifert, 2019). The phenomena were particularly prominent in the early days of settlement when all the goods and services were in short supply based on the fact that a lot of people were independent minors. These services included the lodgings, and other essentials, including the women, who enjoyed a great deal of independence, and less restricted movement than women in other areas. These women worked in the laundry and were consulted for medical treatment if the doctors were absent and sewing services.

This aspect attracted women from far and wide. However, the case of the Chinese commercial sex workers was specially depicted by the account of Ah Toy, one of the few Chinese who migrated to the West as an independent prostitute. She arrived in San Francisco in the early 1850s and became the boss of her brothel in the prostitution hotspot called Chinatown. A majority of young Chinese females would be trafficked to America by what was termed as Tong, denoting hall, which meant a fraternal, underworld, or the secret society in control of drugs, gambling, and prostitution. The women trafficked by the Tong were the products of sale, kidnap, and deception in China with the promise of being married or being offered lucrative employment opportunities in America. However, most of these young naïve women would later find themselves working as indentured domestic servants and prostitutes with very little control of their lives and futures. Human trafficking was rampant and lucrative and sparkled various internal fights among the Tong, between 1870 and 1880s (McKeown & Ryo, 2008). Alternatively, drugs and prostitution were on the rise with joints and saloon being the common man's places of socializing, getting a glimpse of the news and drinking explaining how the western venues for prostitution started cropping up inform of tiny cribs parlor houses and rooms above the saloons.

Due to long hours of sexual exploitation, fatigue and inflicted pains accompanied the women working in theses brothels and saloons, making it necessary for them to use drugs and alcohol. Some of the popular drugs among the women were Lydia Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound, with an alcohol content of about 20.6 percent (Yamin, & Seifert, 2019). Moreover, there was Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup, which showed a high concentration of Morphia. These popular drugs were readily available via the mail, while similar components could be found within the local chemists (Yamin, & Seifert, 2019). The rampant growth in prostitution by the Chinese caused alarm, which prompted the formulation of the immigration laws in 1875, prohibiting the importation of Chinese women for commercial sex.

The restrictive measures made immigration very difficult for any Asian woman leading to a shortage that triggered increased demand for the Chinese prostitutes. However, there were set hierarchies for these women, with those considered as high-class only serving the Chinese men, especially those of the six companies. The high-Class women lived productive lives with comfortable houses, beautiful clothing, expensive jewelry, and had the independence of keeping all the gifts donated by the clients. The low-class Asian women served anyone who could pay and lived in dilapidated conditions. They were exposed to danger and were grossly mistreated, including rapes, theft, and murder. This class lived some of the worst low levels of life. In the wake of the 19th century, the citizenry and authorities developed measures geared towards reducing this prevalence. Among the frontiers were the marriage institutions that regulated marriage and morality (Abrams, 2005). The regulation of morality and marriage played a primary role in the creation and federalization of immigration law. However, just like any other legislation, politics played a critical role.

Chinese Americans attracted the attention of politics as the target of the many urban policing legislation proposed by the political class. American Urban policing was on the rise during the 19th century, especially the mid-1800s, following the rapid growth in the cities as people migrated to the urban centers in search of jobs. This influx of the people resulted in the rise of antisocial behaviors, prompting a reform of the police from the traditional American law enforcement to preventative policing directly under the political class. The policing function included crime and riot control and maintaining order. In one of the classic examples of the renewed urban policing is an article by the Daily Democratic State Journal (Sacramento, California) on June 1, 1855.

In a headline, Local Matters, the captain of the police, had been notified by the District Attorney that the law requiring the suppression of the "houses of ill fame" must be enforced. This is one of the indications of the rampant growth of the new trade. The district had already placed a few suppression laws to control the vice. This directive set the police in motion, leading to the arrest of the then prominent house of ill bosses, including Mary Morgan, Ida Vanard, and around 48 Asian women. The women were believed to be commercial sex workers (Daily Democratic, 1855). However, due to the deeply rooted issue of discrimination and inequality, the owners of the prostitutes were released on bail while the workers were detained. The convicts who met the law's qualification would be tried the next day, but the authorities were in doubt whether the same would lead to more trouble than anticipated and fall short of the intended results by those who framed it (Daily Democratic, 1855). The depiction by the media reporting indicates that, besides being a prominent trade, there was stiff competition between the people in t...