Nayan Shah is a leading expert in Asian American studies and serves as professor at the University of California. His work, Contagious Divides: Epidemics and Race in San Francisco’s Chinatown explores how race, citizenship, and public health combined to illustrate the differences between the culture of Chinese immigrants and white norms in public-health knowledge and policy in San Francisco. Shah discusses how this knowledge impacted social lives, politics, and cultural expression. Contagious Divides investigates what it meant to be a citizen of Chinese race in nineteenth and twentieth-century San Francisco.
Shah begins with the mapping of Chinatown as an immigrant enclave by investigations of health authorities. These investigations provided descriptions of filthy and unsanitary living conditions. The results of the health investigations led to descriptions that would found the body of “knowledge” that Chinese immigrants and their unhygienic habits were the source of epidemic diseases. Chinese social behavior was pointed to as the cultural cause of medical menaces. Chinese immigrants were compared to farm animals and depicted as
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inhuman and inferior. At the beginning of Chinese settlement in San Francisco Chinese immigrants were considered more animalistic than citizens. The health mapping of Chinatown cemented the relationship between Chinese race and place. Contagious Divides next addresses the domestic sphere of Chinese culture. In a chapter entitled “The Dangers of Queer Domesticity,” Shah brings to life the perception white Americans had of Chinese homes. Most American domestic relations consisted of a heterosexual couple and children. However, in Chinatown Chinese men were mostly bachelors and the few Chinese female immigrants there were all considered syphilitic prostitutes. Gender roles, household numbers, spatial arrangements, and a lack of perceived family structure was seen as not only different from American domestic norms, but also as a threat to the racial order and national power. Another space credited with being a place of Chinese degradation were opium dens. Considered by Americans to be semipublic resorts that would seduce white tourists, opium dens generated an inappropriate sociability with Chinese immigrants that created an atmosphere responsible for destroying the morals, manhood, and health of white Americans. Because of their queer domesticity and morally loose social practices, Chinese immigrants were not considered citizens. According to Shah, the struggle for respectable domesticity and American cultural citizenship rested on the shoulders of Chinese women. Chinese immigrants were thought to intentionally infect whites with diseases using their best weapon: Chinese female prostitutes. White Americans viewed this racial war as being raged by mercenary prostitutes who would infect young white boys with syphilis. Dr. Mary Sawtelle blamed Chinese women alone for the syphilis pandemic on the Pacific Coast. To many white Americans like Dr. Sawtelle, Chinese prostitutes embodied syphilis. Hygiene was considered to be women’s nature and responsibility. This gendered asymmetry led white women in San Francisco to train Chinese women in the tenents of middle-class domesticity and conversion to Christianity. Americans associated hygiene with civilization and whiteness in the materiality of furnishings, decorations, and odors. To be considered a citizen, one would need to be clean, white, and Christian. Shah argues that the bubonic plague crisis in Chinatown was a pivotal moment in the establishment of public health power. Amidst bouts of bubonic plague and other epidemic diseases, San Francisco employed quarantines on Chinatown. City health authorities believed contamination could be separated along racial lines. In Chinatown, whites could come and go but those of Chinese race were expected to remain quarantined. The filth and overcrowding associated with Chinatown was believed to incubate bubonic plague. City health officials responded with the quarantine, disinfection, treatment, and inoculation of all residents of Chinatown. Epidemic logic justified the extraordinary invention of mass quarantine, the mobilization of resources, and the disruption of daily life in Chinatown. The Chinese response to the quarantine and the eventual inoculation campaign is interesting. Shah points out three general Chinese reactions: refusal to believe there was an epidemic disease, belief in a disease other than bubonic plague, and the assumption that the cause of the epidemic was from injections of bubonic plague into Chinese residents of Chinatown. The multiple quarantines imposed on Chinatown produced Chinese economic repercussions, protests, and boycotts. Chinese immigrants also exhibited intra-race discrimination when they would treat violently any fellow Chinatown resident who sought out the care of white doctors for illnesses. Combined with the multiple epidemics, quarantines, and the destruction after the 1906 earthquake, the health response in San Francisco ultimately led to the sanitary surveillance and management of Chinatown that would late expand throughout the United States. White property owners and elite Chinese merchants developed plans to rebuild Chinatown in a sanitary manner as an enclave and tourist destination. Sanitary management proved that Chinese immigrants could be viewed as citizen subjects if they abided by prescribed hygiene and sanitary requirements. Contagious Divides also surveys the politics of American/Chinese labor and their respective standards of living.
White Americans felt economically threatened by Chinese laborers for jobs, health, and the American way of life. Additionally, the Chinese medical menace was believed to be a threat to white households and livelihoods. Consumer campaigns began to link the white American security of workplaces with that of white domestic spaces. For instance, the buy-the-union-label campaigns in the first decade of the twentieth century discouraged the purchase and use of Chinese cigars in order to keep Chinese diseases out of American homes and to enact an economic boycott on Chinese cigar manufacturing. In doing so, the American standard of living would be upheld, white worker’s families, livelihoods, homes, and health would be
protected. As San Francisco began to expect epidemic diseases to enter its city, Chinese immigrant-medical inspections were thought to be more important than ever. Initial quarantine and rigorous health inspections would serve as the defense against epidemic diseases. San Francisco turned medical inspections into a screening process for the fitness of future citizens. For example, the diagnosis of a bacterial disease in a prospective Chinese immigrant linked disability with the immigrant’s potential fitness for employment. Health officials considered the medical inspections to be not just about stopping the spread of epidemic diseases, but as a way to develop a certain criteria to determine the long-term consequences of citizenship. The health inspections answered the question, “What kind of citizen would the immigrant be?” One outstanding aspect of Contagious Divides is the chronicling of poetry left by detained Chinese immigrants on Angel Island. The poetry reveals the realities of Chinese detainment and gave the detainees a platform from which to record their experiences. At the time, health officials discounted Chinese poetry and satire reports because it was presumed that the immigrants could know nothing and were in essence not fit for citizenship. In order for Chinese immigrants to fully be integrated into American society, Chinese conduct and living spaces would need to be standardized according to American practices. “The imperatives of health cemented the relationship between conduct and citizenship.” Middle-class domesticity would be the standard immigrants were held against, including adult male responsibility, female domestic caretaking, and reproduction that was legitimized by marriage. As the twentieth century wore on, Chinatown residents experienced a dramatic shift in the way they were perceived by Americans. Shah writes, “They went from being reviled and demonized at the turn of the century to being considered deserving and worthy of assistance in the mid-twentieth century.” Finally, the result of decades of public health reform would signify that Chinese immigrants were to be considered citizens.
Many came for gold and job opportunities, believing that their stay would be temporary but it became permanent. The Chinese were originally welcomed to California being thought of as exclaimed by Leland Stanford, president of Central Pacific Railroad, “quiet, peaceable, industrious, economical-ready and apt to learn all the different kinds of work” (Takaki 181). It did not take long for nativism and white resentment to settle in though. The Chinese, who started as miners, were taxed heavily; and as profits declined, went to work the railroad under dangerous conditions; and then when that was done, work as farm laborers at low wages, open as laundry as it took little capital and little English, to self-employment. Something to note is that the “Chinese laundryman” was an American phenomenon as laundry work was a women’s occupation in China and one of few occupations open to the Chinese (Takaki 185). Chinese immigrants were barred from naturalized citizenship, put under a status of racial inferiority like blacks and Indians as with “Like blacks, Chinese men were viewed as threats to white racial purity” (188). Then in 1882, due to economic contraction and racism Chinese were banned from entering the U.S. through the Chinese Exclusion Act. The Chinese were targets of racial attacks, even with the enactment of the 1870 Civil Rights Act meaning equal protection under federal law thanks to Chinese merchants lobbying Congress. Chinese tradition and culture as well as U.S. condition and laws limited the migration of women. Due to all of this, Chinese found strength in ethnic solidarity as through the Chinese Six Companies, which is considered a racial project. Thanks to the earthquake of 1906 in San Francisco, the Chinese fought the discriminatory laws by claiming citizenship by birth since the fires
This nation was relatively stable in the eyes of immigrants though under constant political and economic change. Immigration soon became an outlet by which this nation could thrive yet there was difficulty in the task on conformity. Ethnic groups including Mexicans and Chinese were judged by notions of race, cultural adaptations and neighborhood. Mary Lui’s “The Chinatown Trunk Mystery” and Michael Innis-Jimenez’s “Steel Barrio”, provides a basis by which one may trace the importance of a neighborhood in the immigrant experience explaining the way in which neighborhoods were created, how these lines were crossed and notions of race factored into separating these
Any notable person with medical expertise will testify that racial identities bear no scientific weight and one’s race is only as significant as the person--or culture the said person is submerged in--makes it out to be. When dissected sociologically, “race prejudice [is] an irrational manifestation of individual pathologies” (Racial Fault Lines, 17)... “[that] represent attempts by one group of people to secure for themselves a privileged position in the social structure at the expense of stigmatized and subordinated social groups,” (Racial Fault Lines, 18). And, while the privileged groups’ “superiority” and other groups’ “inferiority” is arbitrary and holds no ethical legitimacy, the damage caused to the “inferior” groups is undeniable and enormously detrimental. Tomás Almaguer, in his insightful book, Racial Fault Lines: The Historical Origins of White Supremacy in California, explores the various ways in which the Mexican, Native American, and Asian populations in the late nineteenth century
She chooses to cite only academic publications, Canadian governmental documents, and local newspaper articles in her long list of sources, none of which provide perspective from the people around which the article is centered; the Chinese. This highlights the key issue within the article; whilst Anderson meticulously examines how Chinatown is simply a construction of white supremacists, she ignores what life was actually like for the area’s inhabitants, and how the notion of ‘Chinatown’ may have become a social reality for those living in it. By failing to include sources written by those who lived in Chinatown during the time or live there now, she misses the notion of Canadian-Chinese agency and its potential willingness to thrive and adapt in an environment she deems simply a hegemonic construction. Barman’s sources are all encompassing from varying perspectives. This may be due to the fact that she wrote the article 20 years after Anderson’s, during a time in which history was beginning to be viewed through a culturally-relativistic lens.
Tachiki, Amy; Wong, Eddie; Odo, Franklin, eds. (1971). Roots: An Asian American Reader. University of California, Los Angeles Press.
In the late nineteenth century, many European immigrants traveled to the United States in search of a better life and good fortune. The unskilled industries of the Eastern United States eagerly employed these men who were willing to work long hours for low wages just to earn their food and board. Among the most heavily recruiting industries were the railroads and the steel mills of Western Pennsylvania. Particularly in the steel mills, the working conditions for these immigrants were very dangerous. Many men lost their lives to these giant steel-making machines. The immigrants suffered the most and also worked the most hours for the least amount of money. Living conditions were also poor, and often these immigrants would barely have enough money and time to do anything but work, eat, and sleep. There was also a continuous struggle between the workers and the owners of the mills, the capitalists. The capitalists were a very small, elite group of rich men who held most of the wealth in their industries. Strikes broke out often, some ending in violence and death. Many workers had no political freedom or even a voice in the company that employed them. However, through all of these hardships, the immigrants continued their struggle for a better life.
This is evident in the persistence of elderly characters, such as Grandmother Poh-Poh, who instigate the old Chinese culture to avoid the younger children from following different traditions. As well, the Chinese Canadians look to the Vancouver heritage community known as Chinatown to maintain their identity using on their historical past, beliefs, and traditions. The novel uniquely “encodes stories about their origins, its inhabitants, and the broader society in which they are set,” (S. Source 1) to teach for future generations. In conclusion, this influential novel discusses the ability for many characters to sustain one sole
Despite the successful trade market between China and the U.S. the textbook Created Equal makes the point that there was a strict opposition to Chinese immigrants. The Chinese Exclusion Act was approved by Congress in 1882 that sought to keep Chinese immigrants out. In the essay Linking a Continent and a Nation by Jack Chen throughout he argues of the importance of Chinese labor in the construction of the transcontinental railroad and the failure of the U.S. government in acknowledging this labor force. During the 1920s a hatred for Jews and Catholics grew due to the skyrocketing of Judeo-Christian values. Furthermore, during the Red Scare during the early 20th century resulted in the unfair internment of Japanese-Americans. In 1924, the end of European immigration was discussed in class. These are important to the relationship the United States has with the world since they are all the pinnacle of American nationalism and exceptionalism. As discussed in class of the aftermath of 9/11 of the new foreign policy that called for the elimination of any superpower right from the gecko post-cold war. The diffusion of western culture has also caused a Mcdonaldization effect of the consumption of pop culture. Consumerism has left many businesses resorting to outsourcing to third world countries for cheap labor. The 2016 presidential election saw a rise in fake news of racism and violence with the presidential elect Donald Trump. The outcome of this presidential election was discussed in class with an agreement of a loss in stature for the United States in the eyes of other
When the word “gold” is thrown around such news travels far and fast. This caused people from all areas of the world to flock thousands of miles during the Westward Expansion period in efforts of going from “rags to riches” to obtain the American dream. One particular group of laborers the Chinese went to pursue a dream in the west by working on the transcontinental railroad system. This paper will reveal experiences and discriminationsthat Chinese laborers faced while working on railroads during the Westward Expansion era in hopes of overcoming poverty.
Asian’s and Black’s struggle with the legacies of cruelty which in turn has reduced the value of human life to dust—the residue from refugee, slavery, and loss; all ties in together as we view souls who live in such a colorful place, but who originally viewed the world as black and white. Toronto embodies 2.5 million faces with many of whom originate from various places of the worl...
。Li Xiaobing, Sun Yi, Li Xiaoxiao, Chinese in America: from History to Present, Sichuan People's Press, Sichuan, 2003
During the Gold Rush of 1848-1849, California began to experience a large wave of Chinese immigration to the United States. Stories of the discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill drew thousands of Chinese immigrants into North America from various parts of Asia. These immigrants, who were primarily poor peasants, flooded the “Golden Hills” we know as California in pursuit of better economic opportunity. To fill in the needs of the increasingly widespread mining communities in the West, many Chinese immigrants ultimately became merchants, railroad workers, agricultural laborers, mining laborers, and factory workers. Throughout the Gold Rush, members of the Chinese labor force played significant roles in both the social and economic development of the American West, particularly with regards to the construction of the transcontinental railroad.
When the Chinese Exclusion Act was signed into law in May 1882, it was followed by a rapidly decreasing amount of new immigrants to the United States. Regardless of problems that the United States attempted to solve with the Act, violent massacre and persecution of Chinese people in the United States continued. Because of this, many Chinese immigrants that did stay in America continued on for years to receive prejudice and racism in the labor market and cultural society. This then continued to force many Chinese immigrants further and further down the path of segregation and into the protection of Chinatowns and poverty, counteracting the great American idea of the “melting pot.”
In chapter thirty five, author Shelley Sang-Hee Lee explains that “Immigration is an important part of our understanding of U.S. social experience” (Hee 128). Asian immigrants bring their diverse culture, language and custom from various Asian countries. They help improve American economic development. Also, they play an important role in American society. The first Asian immigration flow is the Chinese Immigration in the mid-19th century to work in the gold mines and railroads. The Asian immigrant population grew rapidly between 1890 and 1910 (Hee 130). The increasing of population of Asian immigrants have brought a lot of problems. Many of them were facing the issue of ethnicity, discrimination, and the process of assimilation. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 which banned the immigration of Chinese laborers and proscribed foreign-born Chinese from naturalized citizenship and the Asian Exclusion Act League in 1907 which limited the entry of Asian immigrants have reshaped the demographic of Asian immigrants in the U.S (Hing 45). With the rise of anti-Asian movements, many Asian immigrants were rejected from entering America or deported to their homeland. In the early history of immigration in America, the issue of deportation is an important part of the Asian American experience in the
Millions of immigrants over the previous centuries have shaped the United States of America into what it is today. America is known as a “melting pot”, a multicultural country that welcomes and is home to an array of every ethnic and cultural background imaginable. We are a place of opportunity, offering homes and jobs and new economic gains to anyone who should want it. However, America was not always such a “come one, come all” kind of country. The large numbers of immigrants that came during the nineteenth century angered many of the American natives and lead to them to blame the lack of jobs and low wages on the immigrants, especially the Asian communities. This resentment lead to the discrimination and legal exclusion of immigrants, with the first and most important law passed being the Chinese Exclusion Act. However, the discrimination the Chinese immigrants so harshly received was not rightly justified or deserved. With all of their contributions and accomplishments in opening up the West, they were not so much harming our country but rather helping it.