Chinese Immigrants Adjustment to Mainstream America 1850-1950

122 Pages·2013·0.87 MB·English

by  Kendoussi Mohamed

Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria
Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research
University of Oran-Es Senia
Faculty of Letters, Languages, and Arts

Department of Anglo-Saxon Languages
Doctoral school of British, American and Commonwealth Studies (2008)
Magister memoire
Chinese Immigrants Adjustment to Mainstream America
1850-1950

Members of the jury: Presented by:
Dr. Benhattab Lotfi M.C.A :President (university of Oran ) Kendoussi Mohamed
Pr. Yacine Rachida : Reporter (university of Oran)
Dr. Moulfi Leila M.C.A : Examiner (university of Oran)

Academic year:
2012-2013

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Dedication

I dedicate this work to my dear wife without whom it would not have been
achieved.

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Acknowledgements

I am indebted to many people, without whom this work would not have come
into fruition. First and foremost, I am very thankful to Professor Yacine Rachida
for her painstaking efforts and patience to supervise me in my magister
dissertation. This is a life indebtedness.
I am also thankful to Dr Moulfi Leila and Dr Benhattab Lotfi for their
encouragement and patience, and Fadila Madjid for her help.

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Table of Contents
Dedication ………..……………………………….......................................………………………...I
Acknowledgements…….....………………………………………………….....................................II
Table of Contents…...…..………………………………………………….......................................III
Abstract……...………………………………………………………….............................................VI
List of Table and Figures……………....…………………………..................................…………VIII
General Introduction…………..……………………………….................................……………….1
Chapter One: The Origin of Chinese Americans: A Historical Background ..........................4
I. Ancient China .........……..........…..................…………………………..…………………….……..4
I.I. The pre-Qing Era ……………..............…………………………............…………….…...4

II.The Middle Kingdom...........................................................……………….............................……..6
II.I Geography...................................................................................................…….............…6
II. II. Language.......................................................................................................…................9
II.III structure of the Chinese society......................................................................................10
II. IV Doctrine and Religious Belief.........................................................................................14

III. The late Imperial China ……………...................……………………..............………....…18
III.I The Yuan dynasty ...............................................…………………..............……........…18
III.II The Ming Dynasty and the Chinese Han Return to Power ………..............…..…....…20
III.III The Qing Dynasty ( The Rise and Fall of The Manchu)....……….................…….......22

IV- Circumstances leading to Chinese Immigration to America ( push factors)…......……...............24
IV.1 The First and Second Opium Wars (1839-1842) -(1856-1860)..………..............…..….....25
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V- The Taiping Rebelion …….....………………………………...............……..............……...31
VI- The Punti and Hakka Clan Wars (1855-1867)……...………………..............……….…....34
VII- The Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895)..............………...……..………..............………......36
VIII- The One Hundred Days of Reform:....................................…...……................……….....38

Chapter Two: Coming to the United States of America................................................................41
I- Contact with America (Traders and Missionaries)......….........……………..............……41
I.I Traders and Merchants........................................................................................................41
I.II Missionaries and Educators...............................................................................................43
II-Type of Immigration...........................................................................................................................45
III-The Pull Factors for the Chinese Immigration..................................................................................46
III.I The California Gold Rush (1849)......................................................................................46
III.II The Construction of the Transcontinental Railroad..........................................................48
IV- The Journey to America………………………………………………………………….………..50
IV. I Coming to America…………………………………………………………………..…..52
IV.II Area Distribution and Accommodation ………………………….………………………53
IV.III Chinatowns Social and Political life……………………………………....……………..55
IV.III. 1 Social and Political Organizations…………………………….………………56
IV.III.1.1. Organizations with restrictive membership ( Hui-kuan/ Chinese Six
companies)……………………………………………………………………….…………………….57
A.1 First type…………………………………………………….………………57
A.2 Second Type…………………………………………………………………60
IV.III.1.2. Organizations with open membership………………………………………61
B.1 Chinese Christians ………………………………………….………………61
B.2 Merchant Guilds…………………………………………………………….62
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B.3 Secret Societies and Triads……………………………...…………………..63

V-Job opportunities after Mining and Railroad Construction...............................................................66
V.1 Farming....................................................................................................................66
V.2 Sea Jobs....................................................................................................................67
V-3 Entrepreneurial Activities.....................................................................................68

Chapter three: Anti Chinese Movement and Chinese Reaction.....................................................70
I- The Anti Chinese Movement………………………………………………………..……70
I.1 The Laundry ordinances……………………………………………………….……...73
I.2 The Queue-Cutting Ordinance ……………………………………………….….……75
I.3 The Cubic Air Ordinance…………………………………..………………………….76

II- Discrimination and Labour Protest …………………..…………………….…78
III- Chinese resistance to Anti-Asian Laws………………….……………...…….80
IV- Chinese Exclusion Act 1882…………..…………………...……….………....81
V- Implementation of the Chinese Exclusion Laws…………...…………………84
VI- The Chinese Involvement in the American Society……………..……………86

VI.1 Contribution to the American Laws……………………..………….86
VI.2 Diminution of the Court’s Power over Chinese Cases…….………..88
VII. Chinatowns Organizations and the Anti Chinese Movement............................92
VIII. Chinese Immigrants Adaptation to the American Society.................................92
IX. Assimilation : A Choice or Necessity ....................................................................93
X. General Conclusion………..…………………………………..…….......…...…...….98
XI Glossary......................................................................................................................100
XI Bibliography................................................................................................................101
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Abstract

This dissertation has the purpose of analyzing the rise and fall of the Chinese
Empire and its relations with the United States of America. Therefore, three important
themes have been tackled in this research:
1) A historical background has been presented about the position of china in the
world and the last three dynasties that led to the fall of imperial china.
2) The pull and push factors that pushed the Chinese to move to the United States of
America.
3) The persecution and violence that the Chinese had gone through and the different
discriminatory laws and clauses widespread against the Chinese.
This work has mainly focused on the California Gold Rush and the Chinese active
participation to the transcontinental Railroad.
Accordingly, a heated analysis about the Chinese immigration had been presented and
its role riding the popular Anti-Chinese fervor and fear of an overpopulation and control
of the Chinese people. Indeed for more than 150 years of menial labor and discrimination,
as well as service and contributions to American culture, immigrants from China have not
been welcomed with open arms. But Chinese Americans had battled long to make a place
for themselves, in exotic Chinatowns in New York to San Franciscan shores.
In this country of immigrants and American dream and freedom, the first Chinese
who settled in America learned quickly that freedom was not distributed fairly. In fact
Chinese Americans endured poverty and hostility. But the lure of gold, money and the
opportunity for a better life continued to glimmer on the horizon. However, prejudice that
they experienced from the bias some hold against all minorities to an ethnic superiority
from those born in China.
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List of Tables and MAPS

Tables of chapter one:
Table 1: China’s national minorities............……………………………………… ………X
Tables of chapter two:
Hui-Kuan of the continental United States, 1893-1911.......................................................XIII
Tables of chapter two:
Means of Employment of Chinese in the Continental United States, 1893-1911................XIV
Table four: Total Number of Cases Filed by Year, 1882-1891...........................................XVI

Maps of chapter one:
Map 1.1:Map of china...................................….……………………………...........……….VIII
Map 1.2: Yuan dynasty.............................................………………………………..…...…VIII
Map 1.3: Mingdynasty............................................................………………………...…….IX
Map 1.4: Qin dynasty of people who reported Arab ancestry by country 2000.....................IX

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1 .1 Map of china : http://www.lonelyplanet.com/maps/asia/china/map_of_china.jpg

Map 1.2: Yuan dynasty: http://www.history-of-china.com/img/yuan-dynasty-map-b.gif

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Map 1.3: Ming dynasty:
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~marko20m/classweb/worldpolitics/mingdynasty.html

Map 1.4: Qing dynasty: http://www.chinatownconnection.com/qing-dynasty.htm

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