San Francisco’s Chinatown

1. What was San Francisco's Chinatown like in the 19th century?

• It was a collection of board centers and temples

• It was a community that interacted a lot with Americans

• It had a huge population of 120,000+ people

• It was a recreation of southern China, where a lot of immigrants came from

Answer explanation

⋅ Chinatown was comprised of temples, businesses, and other community buildings.

⋅ It was very secluded, small neighborhood that many found comforting because it reminded them of home.

2. Why did railroad workers and other Chinese working in the United States go to San Francisco’s Chinatown? (Give 2)

Answer explanation

⋅ Enjoyed familiar environment after time spent working outside San Francisco

⋅ Wanted to escape anti-Chinese violence and racism

⋅ Engaged in vices, such as opium dens and brothels

3. How did Chinese laborers, both those already in the U.S.

and those in China, come to work on the railroad?

• The jobs at the local Amazon Fulfillment Centers were hiring

• They were working as miners during the Gold Rush, so they were experienced in railroad construction

• They were forced into slave labor

• Railroad companies recruited workers in Southern China and paid for their passage

Answer explanation

⋅ Chinese miners were experienced in moving earth, using explosives, and other similar work that transferred to railroad-building

⋅ Labor contractors would pay for passage, but had workers sign a contract guaranteeing they would work long enough to pay off their debt

4. What impact did San Francisco Chinatown have on

general U.S. perceptions of the Chinese community? (Give 2)

Answer explanation

⋅ Chinese community was seen negatively because of opium dens and prostitution

⋅ Perception of Chinese was one-dimensional and focused on the negative aspects of Chinatown

5. Why did San Francisco’s Chinatown and other Chinatowns in the U.S. West emerge, and why did so many later disappear?

• Mobs attacked Chinatowns in the 1870s and 1880s, and Chinese were driven out of rural areas

• Chinatowns transformed into floating cities and took refuge in the clouds

• Offered protection in numbers

• Chinatowns were sanctioned and funded by the Chinese government

Answer explanation

⋅ Chinatowns sprang up in other states (NV, CO, MN, etc.) and provided protection and a safe haven for Asian immigrants

⋅ Chinese were driven out of their homes and took refuge in the remaining Chinatowns, such as San Francisco's

6. To what extent did Chinese immigrants choose to live in Chinatown (because of its familiar attractions v. being forced to live there by external hostilities and segregation)?

Answer explanation

It could be both

⋅ Chinese immigrants wanted to live in Chinatowns because they reflected their culture and they could join associations that helped them and the community

⋅ Anti-Chinese violence forced Chinese to live in these ethnic neighborhoods where they were safe