By Steven Zhang, VI Form

Faith and Negligence: Christian Perceptions and Interactions with Chinese Immigrants in 19th Century America

Editor’s Note: This paper was completed as a part of the History Research Fellowship, a one-semester course available to sixth form students.

Introduction

On one night in 1887 in San Jose, California, fires clawed at the sky. Smoke billowed from collapsing roofs of Chinatown apartments and stores, and winds sent trees into frenzies. Amidst this chaos, mothers, their clothes coated in ash, hustled their coughing children to safety. The origin of the fire, which uprooted the lives of approximately 1,400 Chinese residents, remained shrouded in mystery. However, clues to this destruction emerged in a solitary photograph that captured the aftermath of the devastation. In it, hundreds of white working men stood watching the destruction of one of San Jose’s Chinatowns (Figure 1).

Figure 1: The Burning of San Jose’s Chinatown

While the facts of this case are still obscure, the San Jose City Council a hundred years later would unanimously vote a resolution to apologize to Chinese immigrants and their descendants for the role the city played in “systemic and institutional racism, xenophobia, and discrimination.” Today such a terrifying act might be widely condemned, but at the time it was merely one of many incidents of anti-Chinese violence that went relatively unnoticed. In fact, the burning of San Jose Chinatown in history is often eclipsed by similar, anti-Chinese acts, such as the more devastating Santa Ana Chinatown fire. These incidents, lost in a history of anti-Chinese violence, marked the peak of hostility in the late 1800s. 

While anti-Chinese violence has recently seen an emergence in history, it’s a lesser-known fact who fought for the Chinese during such precarious times: Christian missionaries. Christian missionaries were a fascinating group of individuals, who received subtle, but often neglected attention from literature. The literature that does touch upon Christian and Chinese immigration history delves into varying degrees. For example, in Chapter 4 of Mary Lui’s book, China Trunk Mystery, she discusses the female missionary role within the broader Chinese immigration context. While the book provides a fabulous dissection of newspapers and testimonies, Mary Lui centralized her focus on the realm of gender studies and public spheres. Daniel Liestman in his paper, “‘To Win Redeemed Souls from Heathen Darkness’: Protestant Response to the Chinese of the Pacific Northwest in the Late Nineteenth Century” dissects protestant views of Chinese with incredible depth, but focuses on a specific period. Instead, my paper will focus broadly on situating other ongoing events within the US to provide a new lens to view Christian interactions with the Chinese. 

This paper argues that Christians viewed Asian newcomers through three shifting lenses: as potential conduits for missionary work, as rightful recipients of freedoms and liberties, and as moral corrupters of American society. By bridging together existing sources, my paper seeks to develop a full evolution of Christian attitudes toward Asian immigrants from the 1850s to the 1920s, including an impact analysis of each perception.

Context

In 1845, California became a region with a sparse population, predominantly inhabited by Native Americans and Americans who engaged in cattle farming. This changed dramatically with the 1849 Gold Rush, which attracted a flood of workers, including many Chinese immigrants, to gold mining areas like Coarsegold, Fort Miller, and Millerton. These regions provided the Chinese with abundant opportunities for not only gold mining but also for commercial connections. While the gold mines were the primary attraction, other jobs, too, drew in the Chinese. For example, during the 1870s, some Chinese immigrants worked on the Transcontinental Railroad. As the Chinese population in California grew, so did the resentment among white Americans, who viewed them as rivals for jobs and resources. Anti-Chinese sentiment began in local areas first. One such example was in 1873, when some white residents in Fresno California complained that the Chinese were buying railroad tracks in the prime real estate in the area. The townspeople held a meeting, where they agreed to prevent the Chinese from buying any more estate or railroads. Another example was in Chico, California, in 1887. In Chico California, citizens sent letters to employers who worked with the Chinese, asking them to ban the immigrant population.11 One protestor wrote to General Bidwell who employed Chinese in his orchards:

To General Bidwell:-
Sir: Get rid of your Chinese help within the next two months or suffer the consequence,
let this be enough.

This sentiment would continue, even later on March 13th, when five men and a boy jumped a Chinese camp where they pulled revolvers, ordered the Chinese to sit on the floor, and later attacked one of the Chinese.13 White Americans also loathed the Chinese as they took many of their jobs, which increased tensions between them.14 To preserve safety amidst growing hostility, the Chinese formed enclosed communities, now known as Chinatowns, developing distinct social structures within these enclaves.

The public domain also mirrored this anti-Chinese sentiment. In 1878, the newspaper The Wasp published a cartoon that promoted anti-Chinese sentiment for the public to view (Figure 2).

Figure 2: The Chinese Must Go

Created by artist George F. Keller, this cartoon served as a provocative statement against the presence of Chinese immigrants in California. The illustration featured a donkey labeled “D.K.,” symbolizing Denis Kearney, the Irish-born leader of the Workingmen’s Party, known for his rallying cry “The Chinese Must Go.” Intriguingly, the cartoon simultaneously mounted a dual critique: targeting Kearney with the donkey imagery and expressing anti-Chinese sentiment. Yet, the primary focus lay on the latter. The second text, “But, Who Keeps Them?” is an active challenge to the readers at the time. Who was keeping the Chinese in California? The Wasp attacked the readers as the ones who patronized Chinese businesses and kept them in US households. The Wasp published another racially infused cartoon (Figure 3).

Figure 3: The Chinese Monopoly

In the background, industrial smoke billows from factories, a symbol of the era’s industrial boom. The central figure, a Chinese man, displays the word “monopoly” on his hand, signifying perceived control over critical industries like clothing and box manufacturing. Beneath his hand, these sectors are subtly depicted. Behind his left leg, angry protesters symbolize public resentment towards Chinese influence on the economy and governance. The man’s sly smirk implies cunning control, casting the Chinese presence in a negatively manipulative light. This cartoon effectively portrays the deep-seated xenophobic sentiments of the time.

Steven is a 6th Form Day Student from Southborough, MA. He looks cooking, running, late-night conversations, blue cheese, binging 2-hour long track and field race videos, and history. He especially loves the fields of Asian American studies, Ethnic Studies, and cultural anthropology.