The Chinese Exclusion Act was the first anti-immigration law
against one race in American History. Many Chinese people immigrated
to the United States during the 1850s because of the gold rush.
They refered to the promise of gold in America as Gold Mountain.
Throughout the 19th Century the promise of work and opportunities
started
many small Chinese communities in several cities including Olympia.
Many of the Chinese people who immigrated to America were men
who did not intend to stay because they had wives and family
back in China.
During this period of time China was suffering from
famine,
floods, and social revolution. Chinese men working in America
would raise money and send it back to their families back in
China as aide.
Under the Burlingame Treaty of
1868, the Chinese government and the American government agreed
to allow Chinese workers and
merchants to immigrate to America. Many companies thrived on
the labor of Chinese people including the railroad, timber,
and fishing industries. The Burlingame Treaty was aimed at protecting
Chinese in the United States against discrimination, but by the
late 1870s, anti-Chinese sentiment grew amongst the white settler
labor unions. The Knights
of Labor was the leading union against Chinese
laborers. They held national rallies and campaigns against
the Chinese.
The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 prohibited
Chinese laborers (but not merchants) from coming into America.
Chinese people were not able to own
land, work on any public works or private industry, and were
even prevented from marrying while in the USA.
In Tacoma and Seattle, riots and violence took place against
the Chinese communities. The Chinese were driven out of both
cities. Unlike many places in Washington State the Chinese
community
of Olympia was protected by Sheriff Billings.
He took action against a mob of people threatening to burn down
Olympia's Chinatown on February 9, 1886. He swore in 100 of
the most prominent citizens of Olympia as deputies to protect
the Chinese. Keeping the peace between Chinese and white settlers
was important because Olympia wanted to protect their seat of
state government. The Chinese community expressed their gratitude
to Sheriff Billings and his family for forty years after this
incident. Every Chinese
New Year the
Billings family would recieve gifts of tea and Asian delicacies.
Although the Chinese were able to stay in Olympia many ordinances
and laws made it very diffucult for them to work and begin a
family, so they migrated to more prominent Chinatowns. The Chinatown
of Olympia had only a few families, many of whom relocated to
larger Pacific Coast cities.
