History of Asian Americans - Hostility

Hostility

The Chinese arrived in the U.S. in large numbers on the West Coast in the 1850s and 1860s to work in the gold mines and railroads. They encountered very strong opposition—violent as riots and physical attacks forced them out of the gold mines. The Central Pacific railroad hired thousands, but after the line was finished in 1869 they were hounded out of many railroad towns in states such as Wyoming and Nevada. Most wound up in Chinatowns—areas of large cities which the police largely ignored. The Chinese were attacked—especially by Irish Americans (who were themselves recent immigrants)--as undesirable and inassimilable strangers who brought disease, economic competition, vice (gambling, prostitution and opium), and immorality to the communities in which they settled. The Chinese were further alleged to be "coolies" who were practically slaves, and were said to be not suitable for becoming independent thoughtful voters because of their alien mindset and their control by tongs. The same negative reception hit the Asians who migrated to Mexico and Canada.

The Japanese arrived in large numbers 1890-1907, many going to Hawaii (an independent country until 1898), and others to the West Coast. Hostility was very high on the West Coast, but not especially violent. Hawaii was a multicultural society in which the Japanese experienced about the same level of distrust as other groups. Indeed, they were the largest population group by 1910, and after 1950 took political control of Hawaii. The Japanese on the West Coast of the U.S. (as well as Canada and Latin America) were interred during World War II, but not those on Hawaii.