The history of Chinese immigration in the United States has always been complicated. As the USA used to be very attractive country for immigration, Chinese immigrants’ influx reached a high number by the middle of the XIX century. Despite the growing number of immigrants of different ethnicities, racial issue was still critical in the relations between white Americans and Asian immigrants. Racial intolerance often fueled by economic and social problems in the country led to violent actions and tragic consequences. One of such events, named later as the Rock Springs massacre of 1885, has become the result of both racial intolerance against Chinese and unequal, according to the belief of white American workers, payment of labor. Speaking of the Rock Springs riot, it must be noted that preconditions and causes of event have been formed for many years, and they were multifaceted.
Mass immigration of Chinese to the United States of America in the XIX century was stipulated both by external and internal factors. First, the USA encouraged immigration until first half of XIX century as it was meeting primary goals of the State: settlement of immense territories and development of industry and agriculture. Secondly, China at that period was weakened by the First Opium War, which brought economic instability to the country and caused a political crisis of ruling dynasty. Major group of population, Chinese farm peasants, lived in difficult conditions, and rumors of better life made them leave their families and try to find better means of support. In the end, Taiping Rebellion of 1850-1864 gave rise to mass immigration from China (Tian). Another important factor was the beginning of gold rush in California which attracted Chinese to the country; many of them found jobs at mining sector. Involvement of Chinese workers into construction of transcontinental railroad was so successful that workers’ recruitment began in China (Carnes, Tauss and Blackmun 50).
Since the number of Chinese was growing on a regular basis, it caused the fear and protest of white population being afraid of ethnic and religious balance change. Such attitude was partially stipulated by the vision of Chinese exclusion as a common solution for industrial problems of the country and usage of Chinese issue to the advantage of politicians (Lyman 132). However, growing social tensions in the USA made the government to introduce limitations in immigration policy. In spring of 1882, the Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act that prohibited immigration of Chinese to the USA for 10 years (“Chinese Immigration and the Chinese Exclusion Acts”). Despite the freezing of immigration, a high number of Chinese workers who came before the passage of the Act already settled in the west. Fear and racial prejudice induced rapidly spreading anti-Chinese movements all over the country under the slogan “Chinese Must Go”. On September 2nd, 1885, the territory of Wyoming became widely known due to the bloody murder of Chinese miners by white workers at Rock Springs because of intensive competition between two groups of workers.
Labor disputes often fueled anti-Chinese and anti-immigrants’ sentiments of the white workers. However, large mining companies have seen certain benefits in hiring Chinese laborers: their labor was cheaper, and they did not join the labor unions. For Chinese the payment was sufficient compared to the one they could receive in China, and many of them were able to send money to support the families. As a consequence, white workers were losing the jobs. Union Pacific Company operating the coal mines in Wyoming preferred to hire Chinese, but the law prohibited to exclude all white workers. The payment was equal for all the workers, but white workers were usually given the most complicated areas for digging (Carnes, Tauss and Blackmun 52). Subsequently, it gave rise to protests and strikes against Chinese workers and demands of their dismissal. However, none of white workers’ requirements was satisfied; moreover, it led to the prohibition of their further hiring by Union Pacific Company.
Second half of the XIX century was marked by the development of labor unions aimed at the improvement of workers position and labor conditions. One of such early unions was the union “Knights of Labor” including big number of workers. The Knights of Labor were strong supporters of Chinese Exclusion Act and considered the strike as their most effective mean to reach the goals. Many white workers of Rock Springs mines in 1885 also were the members of the Knights of Labor.
The massacre in Rock Springs began from the fight in Mine Number Six between white and Chinese workers on early morning of September 2nd, 1885. The fight rumors made other workers stop working and form an armed mob which gathered in the premises of the Knights of Labor. The actual violence was delayed until evening when white workers headed out to Chinese settlement, killing Chinese workers they met on the way and burning their houses, sometimes with people inside. Early this day, Chinese leaders being aware of aggressive behavior rise recommended people to stay at home, hoping that Company will take measures to protect them, but eventually it proved to be wrong. In the end, 28 Chinese miners were murdered, 15 were wounded, Chinese houses and property were burnt; the damage amounted up to 150,000 USD (Wei). The Governor of Wyoming who visited Rock Springs on the next day after the events requested the arrival of federal troops which arrived to Rock Springs and stayed there until the stabilization of situation.
Rock Springs attack encouraged other areas to initiate violence against Chinese. During next three months a number of attacks tool place in Coal Creek, Seattle and Tacoma (Wei). The level of threat to Chinese was so serious that, as for Rock Springs, government had to send military forces to repress the movements. Union Pacific Company transported survived Chinese workers to Evanston, but it wasn’t safe as anti-Chinese attitude also prevailed there. Chinese workers had to come back to Rock Springs, but sometime later Union Pacific Company initiated replacement of all Chinese workers by white workers. National union of the Knights of Labor denied its involvement, because it was not willing to be associated with the event.
In their letter followed by the events and signed by 559 of them, Chinese workers expressed strong sense of disappointment: “We never thought that the subjects of a nation entitled by treaty to the rights and privileges of the most favored nation could, in a country so highly civilized like this, so unexpectedly suffer the cruelty and wrong of being unjustly put to death, or of being wounded and left without the means of cure, or being abandoned to poverty, hunger, and cold, and without the means to betake themselves elsewhere” (“To This We Dissented”).
However, demand to punish those who were responsible for the massacre wasn’t implemented. Initially, investigating committee arrested 16 persons and held investigation, but found no support among local witnesses and made the arrestees free (Carnes, Tauss and Blackmun 56). Later, none of them was judged for participation at the massacre.
Main US newspapers and magazines, such as New York Times, Harper’s Weekly, Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper immediately published the articles related to Rock Springs events (Hutton and Reed 94-95). Most of national mass media were sympathizing Chinese because of the cruelty they faced, but still were protecting the positions of white workers in the context of nationwide anti-Chinese attitude. Newspapers in their publications used general stereotypes against Chinese emphasizing their inability to assimilate into American society because of strong difference in culture, appearance and traditional way of life. Racial prejudice against Chinese was also demonstrated by other immigrants who considered Chinese as a threat to their potential or current jobs due to the high number of Chinese workers and their readiness to work for a small payment.
Rock Springs massacre also had some political consequences which eventually benefited for Chinese, who suffered in the massacre. U.S. Government was recommended to pay compensations to Chinese workers, but payments were delayed. China’s officials could not stay aside and reacted by declarations of possible revenge. Rock Springs massacre gave rise to anti-American sentiments in China and concerns in America regarding the relations with China. Finally, U.S. government agreed to pay compensation, but it was declared as a compensation of damage and not as a compensation for consequences of the massacre (Alexander).
Rock Springs massacre has become one of the worst examples of anti-Chinese violence in the United States. It happened due to the combination of many factors such as racial intolerance, economic difficulties, labor disputes for payment and country-wide anti-Chinese sentiments. The prejudice against Chinese in the USA in general and in Rock Springs in particular, reached the peak of violence, because it was supported by all the parties involved: politicians who used the issue to their own benefit in political races, national newspapers which promoted the idea of Chinese immigrants’ non-assimilation to the American society, and labor unions interested in promotion of the local workers. Therefore, Chinese immigrants who had a long story of relations with America in this particular case were the victim of mass racial propaganda and poor labor relations’ regulation. Although the lessons learned from this period of American history are sad, they must serve as a reminder of racial tolerance importance for future generations of Americans.
Works Cited
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Hutton, Frankie, and Barbara Straus Reed, eds. Outsiders in 19th-century Press History: Multicultural Perspectives. eds. Bowling Green, Ohio: Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1995. Web. 22 Mar. 2016.
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“To This We Dissented”: The Rock Springs Riot. History Matters: The U.S. Survey Course On the Web. Center for History and New Media/American Social History Project. N.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.
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