Chinatowns in The United States - History

History

Chinatowns in the United States have historically been located in the "big cities" such as New York City, San Francisco, Boston, Los Angeles, and Chicago and existed initially as enclaves that ease transition into the American culture. The earliest Chinatowns tended to be on the west coast while the newer ones are being built in lesser profile cities as opportunities shift. As the migration trends toward returning to China, many Chinatowns, especially smaller ones like the one in Washington, D.C., begin to lose their initial mission. Today, many urban Chinatowns in the United States are becoming visitor centers rather than serving as the ethnic enclaves they once were, although the rapidly growing satellite New York City Chinatowns in the boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn on Long Island represent a stark exception to this trend in North America, fueled by continuing robust levels of large-scale immigration from mainland China specifically directed toward New York.

The significant timeline is as follows:

• 1840s-1860s - Many initial Chinatowns developed in the west spurred by the California Gold Rush and the Transcontinental railroad, such as San Francisco's Chinatown.
• 1863 - Emancipation Proclamation opens up new opportunities for Chinese in the Southern United States
• 1860s, 1870s, 1880s - racial tensions, labor tensions, leads to incidents such as the Rock Springs Massacre
• 1882-1943 - Chinese Exclusion Act was in effect, banning Chinese immigration into the United States.
• 1943 - Repeal of Chinese Exclusion Act, Chinatown populations start to rise again.
• 1970s - end of Vietnam War
• 1995 - "New Chinatown" concept starts in Chinatown, Las Vegas.
• 2010s - Downturn of U.S. economy, China economy rises, causes reverse migration, and decay of Chinatowns