‘John Chinaman’ and The New York Times What was the position of The New York Times during the debate on the Chinese immigration to the United States from 1851 until 1882 and why did they take this position? Joris Germs 0459615 MA American History Contents Introduction.................................................................................................................. 2 The arrival of the Chinese in San Francisco ................................................................ 4 Governor Bigler and the Chinese................................................................................. 8 The ‘coolie trade’ ....................................................................................................... 15 The Civil War............................................................................................................. 19 The beginning of the Reconstruction ......................................................................... 23 The Burlingame Treaty .............................................................................................. 27 Spreading throughout the country.............................................................................. 34 The Celts and the Celestials ....................................................................................... 42 The Chinese are coming............................................................................................. 46 “He has come to stay”................................................................................................ 50 The Chinese question entering national politics ........................................................ 54 Special Joint Committee on Chinese Immigration..................................................... 60 Looking for an answer ............................................................................................... 66 The veto and the rise of Kearney ............................................................................... 71 “The Chinese Must Go.”............................................................................................ 80 A Vexed Question Settled.......................................................................................... 88 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 95 Sources ..................................................................................................................... 101 1 Introduction “It’s the negro question all over again”. 1 The editor of the New York Times came to this conclusion after spending an article about the fears in the western part of the country about a “Chinese Supremacy” in 1869. This article would be one of many spent on the Chinese in the United States. The discovery of gold in California at the end of the forties had attracted many Chinese men to the state. Only 46 Chinese had officially been recorded as admitted to the United States until 1850. This number grew to 61,397 within the next ten years.2 The Chinese had found their way to the United States. In the meantime on the other side of the continent, New York City, by far the largest city in the United States 3 in 1850, had already been dealing with immigrants for two centuries. It was in this city that Henry J. Raymond and George Jones founded The New York Times. The first edition was published on the 18 th of September 1851. 4 The New York Times would soon become a respected newspaper in New York and would eventually become the third largest newspaper of the United States. 5 As we can see, both the Chinese and the New York Times found their place in American society at the same time. But where the New York Times would become a respected part of society, the Chinese had to deal with much opposition to their role in society. This opposition would eventually lead to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. Several opinions on the place of the Chinese in society were discussed in the newspapers. This research will deal with the question: what was the position of The New York Times during the debate on the Chinese immigration to the United States from 1851 until 1882 and why did they take this position? The results of the research can be interesting because they’ll show how developments at a newspaper and developments in a country can influence the way editors write about a certain subject. Next to that, debates about immigration regulations are still an important topic in society and therefore it is interesting to know how a newspaper treated this topic in the decades up to the first immigration restriction, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. After this first immigration law, there would be many other immigration 1 John Chinaman – What Shall We do with Him? (1869, 29-6) The New York Times 2 R.H. Lee, The Chinese in the United States of America (Oxford 1960) 21 3 http://www.census.gov/, Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990 (1998) 4 E. Davis, History of the New York Times 1851-1921 (New York 1969) 6 5 http://abcas3.accessabc.com/, ACCESS ABC: eCirc for US Newspapers (2011) 2 laws to come and the results of this research could be used in a further research on the position of The New York Times’ editors in other anti-immigration debates in the United States. Hundred ninety-six editorials were written in the New York Times about the Chinese in the United States between 1852 and 1882 and these were all studied. To be able to see the editorials in perspective, several books on the topics were studied. These books are necessary to have an overview of the history of The New York Times and the history of the Chinese in America. After studying the primary sources from the newspaper itself and the secondary sources for the background information on the subject, it must be possible to give an answer to the question: what was the position of The New York Times during the debate on the Chinese immigration to the United States from 1851 until 1882 and why did they take this position? 3 The arrival of the Chinese in San Francisco The first Chinese woman recorded in the United States was Afong May in New York in 1834. She was exhibited at several museums in New York and Brooklyn and she was subjected to scientific research. Especially her small bound feet were an interesting subject for researchers. In the following years more Chinese entered the country, often primarily meant for entertainment purposes, like Afong May. The circus of Barnum had a Chinese dwarf and the Siamese twins Chang and Eng were conquering the hearts of the American public. This didn’t improve the image of Chinese in America, because it reconfirmed the already existing prejudice that most Asians were freaks. 6 In total a number of 758 Chinese were recorded in the United States during the period of 1841-1850. 7 The number of Chinese recorded in the United States would change dramatically in the next decades. There were several reasons for this change in the number of immigrants coming from China, but the main reason was gold. It wasn’t solemnly gold which caused the Chinese to cross the Pacific. The attitude towards emigration from China had changed in the last decades. In the 15th century, China had been an exploring country. They were adventurous and exploring the world. But due to several reasons this changed towards a policy of non-emigration. This non- emigration policy was also reflected in the way Chinese officials (in 1852) cared for their fellow citizens abroad: “The Emperor’s wealth is beyond computation; why should he care for those of his subjects who have left there home, or for the sands they scraped together”. 8 Although their confidence was still very high, the once mighty Chinese empire had deteriorated, as it couldn’t prevent the European powers from gaining influence in China in the 18 th and 19 th century. The Chinese economy fell into the hands of European powers and “the deterioration of the standard of living” 9 became another reason why the Chinese crossed the Pacific. Although it may have been a large step to cross the Pacific, most Chinese weren’t afraid of leaving their beloved country. They were certain to return to China one day and most of them did. And so, with rumors about the ‘gold mountain’ in 6 I. Chang, The Chinese in America (New York 2004) 26-29 7 Lee, The Chinese , 21 8 R. Daniels, Asian America (Washington 1988) 11 9 Ibidem, 12 4 California and the conviction to return one day, many Chinese went to the United States. 10 After the discovery of gold, the city of San Francisco grew from 500 inhabitants in 1848 to more than 30,000 in 1850. These new inhabitants came from all over the world. San Francisco was the most important port for Chinese immigrants to arrive after their journey from China. This journey took one or two months and started at ports like Canton, Macao and Hong Kong. Advertisements in Chinese port cities promoted the emigration to the United States and many Chinese found their way to the ships which would bring them across the ocean. After a long journey, full of death and disease, the Chinese who made it to San Francisco Bay, experienced a new world in a booming city. San Francisco had turned into one of the biggest cities of the U.S. within several years. From being a small town just years before, with the city and their officials unprepared for such a growth, San Francisco had become a man-driven city, which was being ruled by force and anarchy. Half of the inhabitants were foreign born and