Timeline of Chinese immigration to the United States

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This timeline covers Chinese immigration to the United States, including both temporary and permanent migration. Among the topics discussed are: migration patterns, source and target regions of migration, laws (U.S. federal and state, and Chinese) that target or significantly affect migration patterns, court cases and administrative/bureaucratic developments affecting migration.

Year Month and date (if available) Event type Affected United States region Details
1815 Beginning of migration California Migration from China to the United States begins at a very small scale, along with the opening of trade between China and the United States. See the Wikipedia page History of Chinese Americans for more context.
1834 Beginning of migration California Afong Moy is the first Chinese woman to arrive in the United States. She is brought from her home town of Guangzhou to New York City by Nathaniel and Frederick Carne, who exhibit her as "the Chinese Lady".[1][2][3]
1848 February Jurisdictional definitions and boundaries California The Mexican-American War concludes, and Alta California (which includes the modern U.S. state of California, plus nearby regions) is established to be part of the United States.
1850 California (San Francisco) Chinatown, San Francisco begins to be formed, as Chinese settle in the area (partly because of being unable to move into other parts of the city).
1850 Jurisdictional definitions and boundaries California The state of California comes into formal existence (...)
1850 Tax California The state of California passes a Foreign Miners' Tax of $20/month on foreign miners in California. The decision to focus on foreign miners reflects the majority view that the presence of Chinese in city services is appreciated but their competition in mining is not.
1851 Tax California The Foreign Miners' Tax is repealed, after failing to raise sufficient revenue, and causing impoverishment among miners, making them flee to cities with no money
1852 Tax California The state of California imposes a Foreign Miners' License Tax of $3/month on foreign miners. The amount of the tax would increase gradually and eventually get to $20/month in 1870, at which point it would be repealed.
1854 Court case California In People v. Hall, George Hall is accused of murdering a foreign miner Ling Sing, but all witnesses are Chinese. The court rejects their testimony, arguing that Section 394 (which forbade Indians and blacks from testifying against whites) also forbade Chinese from testifying againt whites. The opinion was delivered in 1854 by Chief Justice Hugh Murray with the concurrence of Justice Solomon Heydenfeldt.[4][5]
1854 Prostitution California (San Francisco) Chinese madam Ah Toy shuts down her business in response to the decision in People v. Hall. She had previously used the threat of the law to protect herself from clients who harassed her, but this would no longer be possible. See Ah Toy on Wikipedia for more.
1855 April 28 Tax California The California state legislature passes an Act to Discourage the Immigration to the State of Persons who cannot Become Citizens thereof, imposing a $50 tax on the owner of the arriving ship or vessel for each migrant on board the vessel who is not eligible for United States citizen. In particular, this law applies to Chinese immigrants, since naturalization is currently restricted to free white persons (by the Naturalization Act of 1790). The Act goe sin effect on September 1.[6]
1858 Treaty United States With the conclusion of the Second Opium War, the Treaty of Tientsin is signed between China, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The complicated treaty requires China to continue to open its ports to Western access, and in turn, the Chinese have access to Western ports.[7]
1858 Geographical diversification New York City Businessman Ah Ken arrives in New York City and sets up cigar stores around this time, marking the beginnings of Chinatown, Manhattan.
1860 Speech/writing California Pun Chi, a young Chinese merchant, delivers an impassioned appeal to the United States Congress, arguing against the decision in People v. Hall. The speech is translated from Chinese to English in 1870 by William Speer, a Presbyterian minister and missionary in San Francisco’s Chinatown.[8]
1862 February 19 Restriction United States The 37th United States Congress passes a law forbidding participation by American citizens in the "coolie" trade from China, namely, trade in bonded Chinese labor. The Act also reinforces existing regulations on the conditions of transportation (as codified previously in modifications to the Steerage Act of 1819 and in the Carriage of Passengers Act of 1855).[9]
1863 Connectivity United States Work begins on the First Transcontinental Railroad, connecting Northern California with the East Coast. The increased connectivity would result in Chinese immigrants moving to other parts of the country beyond California, and would make Chinese immigration a more salient federal issue, rather than merely a California state issue.
1863 Geographical diversification California (Los Angeles) Chinatown, Los Angeles begins to form as Chinese begin to move to Los Angeles to work on the railroad.
1868 July 28 Treaty United States The treaty that would later be known as the Burlingame Treaty is ratified in Washington, D.C. The treaty amends the Treaty of Tientsin by making relations between China and the United States more equal. The United States grants China most favored nation status. The treaty affirms that each country must allow people from the other country to migrate to it, but the privilege of naturalization is withheld.[10][11]
1869 May 10 Connectivity United States The First Transcontinental Railroad is completed, with the two teams working on the railroad from the west and east respectively meeting in Utah.
1869 December 28 Labor union United States The Knights of Labor, a progressive labor union, is founded by Uriah Stephens.[12] The union plays an important role in the United States labor movement. Althought inclusive of women and blacks well ahead of public opinion, the union embraces anti-Chinese sentiment.[13]
1871 October 24 Violence California (Los Angeles) The Chinese massacre of 1871 occurs in Los Angeles, California. 500 people enter Chinatown to attack, rob, and murder Chinese residents. An estimated 17 to 20 Chinese are tortured and hanged, making the event the largest mass lynching in American history..[14][15]
1873 Legislation with disparate impact California (San Francisco) The Pigtail Ordinance is passed with a narrow margin by the San Francisco Baord of Supervisors, but vetoed by the Mayor.
1882 Organization California (San Francisco) The Chinese Six Companies, that are already operating in San Francisco to provide various benefits, protections, and oversight to people of Chinese origin in the area, form a Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association.
1883 Organization New York City The Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association of New York City forms.
1885 September 2 Violence Wyoming (Rock Springs, Sweetwater County) The Rock Springs Massacre, also known as the Rock Springs Riot, a riot between Chinese immigrant miners and white immigrant miners, occurs at Rock Springs in Sweetwater County, Wyoming, due to racial tensions created by an ongoing labor dispute over the Union Pacific Coal Department's policy of paying Chinese miners less than white miners, and giving them a preference in hiring. The riot, instigated by white miners, leads to at least 28 (and likely more) Chinese miners dead, and many non-fatal injuries. There is some speculation that the Knights of Labor organization is connected to the riots, but no definitive evidence.
1885 September 7 Violence Washington (Squak Valley, now Issaquah) The Attack on Squak Valley Chinese laborers, 1885 occurs.
1885 November 3 Violence Washington (Tacoma) The Tacoma Riot of 1885 occurs. The city of Tacoma had proposed a November 1 deadline for the Chinese population to leave the city. On November 3, two days after the deadline, an angry mob consisting of prominent businessmen, law enforcement, and political leaders marches Chinese residents to the railroad station and forces them to board a train to Portland. In the following days, structures belonging to the now expelled Chinese residents are razed.[16][17]
1886 February 6–9 Violence Washington (Seattle) The Seattle Riot of 1886 occurs after a Knights of Labor chapter attempts forcible expulsion of all Chinese from the city. Violence occurs between chapter members and federal troops ordered in by President Grover Cleveland.
1887 May Violence Oregon (Wallowa County) The Hells Canyon Massacre occurs, with 34 Chinese miners ambushed and murdered. The site of the violence is renamed Chinese Massacre Cove in 2005, and a memorial is placed there in 3 languages in 2012.[18]

References

  1. Wei Chi Poon. "The Life Experiences of Chinese Women in the U.S.". Archived from the original on July 24, 2014. Retrieved September 5, 2014. 
  2. "The First Chinese Women in the United States". The National Women's History Museum. Retrieved September 5, 2014. 
  3. Ward, Geoffrey (1997). The West: An Illustrated History. Little, Brown & Co. p. 147. ISBN 0-316-92236-6. 
  4. "THE PEOPLE, RESPONDENT, v. GEORGE W. HALL, APPELLANT. Supreme Court of the State of California, 1854.". Retrieved March 20, 2016. 
  5. Smith, S. E. "Laying Some History On You: People v. Hall". Retrieved March 20, 2016. 
  6. "An Act to Discourage the Immigration to the State of Persons who cannot Become Citizens thereof". April 28, 2855. Retrieved May 28, 2017.  Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. "1858, Tianjin - USA". Retrieved May 13, 2017. 
  8. ""We Chinese Are Viewed Like Thieves and Enemies": Pun Chi Appeals to Congress to Protect the Rights of Chinese, ca. 1860". History Matters. Retrieved May 13, 2017. 
  9. "An Act to Prohibit the "Coolie Trade" by American Citizens in American Vessels" (PDF). February 19, 1862. Retrieved May 29, 2017. 
  10. "Text of the Treaty Between China & The United States". Retrieved May 13, 2017. 
  11. "Burlingame Treaty (1868)". HarpWeek. Retrieved May 13, 2017. 
  12. "Knights of Labor Facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about Knights of Labor". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2015-12-14. 
  13. Macaray, David (July 2, 2012). "Back When Organized Labor Declared War on the Chinese". Huffington Post. Retrieved May 28, 2017. 
  14. "Chinese Massacre of 1871". University of Southern California. June 23, 2002. Archived from the original on October 14, 2012. 
  15. Johnson, John (10 March 2011). "How Los Angeles Covered Up the Massacre of 17 Chinese". LA Weekly. Retrieved 1 August 2016. 
  16. Pfaelzer 2007, pp. 219-223.
  17. Chinese Reconciliation Project Foundation 2013, "The History of the Foundation."
  18. Nokes, R. Gregory (Fall 2006). "A Most Daring Outrage: Murders at Chinese Massacre Cove, 1887". Oregon Historical Quarterly. 107 (3). Archived from the original on 28 January 2007. Retrieved 20 March 2007.