The Rock Springs massacre, also known as the Rock Springs riot, occurred on September 2, 1885, in the present-day United States city of
Rock Springs in
Sweetwater County,
Wyoming
Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...
. The riot, and resulting massacre of
immigrant Chinese miners by
white immigrant miners, was the result of racial prejudice toward the Chinese miners, who were perceived to be taking jobs from the white miners. The
Union Pacific Coal Department found it economically beneficial to give preference in hiring to Chinese miners, who were willing to work for lower wages than their white counterparts, angering the white miners. When the rioting ended, at least 28 Chinese miners were dead and 15 were injured. Rioters burned 78 Chinese homes, resulting in approximately US$150,000 in property damage
[ (equal to $ in 2020 terms).
Tension between whites and Chinese immigrants in the late 19th century ]American West
The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...
was particularly high, especially in the decade preceding the violence. The massacre in Rock Springs was one among several instances of violence culminating from years of anti-Chinese sentiment in the United States
Anti-Chinese sentiment in the United States dates to the mid-19th century, shortly after Chinese immigrants, the ancestors of many Chinese Americans, first arrived in North America. It has taken many forms, including prejudice; racist immigration ...
. The Chinese Exclusion Act
The Chinese Exclusion Act was a United States federal law signed by President Chester A. Arthur on May 6, 1882, prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers for 10 years. The law excluded merchants, teachers, students, travelers, and diplom ...
in 1882 suspended Chinese immigration for ten years, but not before thousands of immigrants came to the American West. Most Chinese immigrants to Wyoming Territory
The Territory of Wyoming was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 25, 1868, until July 10, 1890, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Wyoming. Cheyenne was the territorial capital. The boun ...
took jobs with the railroad at first, but many ended up employed in coal mines owned by the Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...
. As Chinese immigration increased, so did anti-Chinese sentiment on the part of whites. The Knights of Labor
Knights of Labor (K of L), officially Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor, was an American labor federation active in the late 19th century, especially the 1880s. It operated in the United States as well in Canada, and had chapters also ...
, one of the foremost voices against Chinese immigrant labor, formed a chapter in Rock Springs in 1883, and most rioters were members of that organization. However, no direct connection was ever established linking the riot to the national Knights of Labor organization.[
In the immediate aftermath of the riot, ]United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
troops were deployed in Rock Springs. They escorted the surviving Chinese miners, most of whom had fled to Evanston, Wyoming
Evanston is a city in and the county seat of Uinta County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 12,359 at the 2010 census. It is located near the border with Utah.
History
Evanston was named after James A. Evans, a civil engineer for th ...
, back to Rock Springs a week after the riot. Reaction came swiftly from the era's publications. In Rock Springs, the local newspaper endorsed the outcome of the riot, while in other Wyoming newspapers, support for the riot was limited to sympathy for the causes of the white miners.[ The massacre in Rock Springs touched off a wave of anti-Chinese violence, especially in the ]Puget Sound
Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...
area of Washington Territory
The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...
.
Background
Chinese immigration to the United States at that time was neither uniform nor widespread. J. R. Tucker
John R. Tucker (1946 – April 12, 2014) was an American physicist who made several contributions to the fields of electronics, physics and microwave theory, known for generalizing the microwave mixer theory and presenting the body of work, known ...
, writing for ''The North American Review
The ''North American Review'' (NAR) was the first literary magazine in the United States. It was founded in Boston in 1815 by journalist Nathan Hale and others. It was published continuously until 1940, after which it was inactive until revived a ...
'' in 1884, stated that the vast majority of the nearly 100,000 Chinese immigrants resided within the American West
The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...
: California, Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
, Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
, and the Washington Territory
The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...
.[Tucker, "Race Progress in the United States", ''The North American Review'' 1884, p. 163.] The U.S. Minister to China, George Seward, had asserted similar numbers in ''Scribner's Magazine
''Scribner's Magazine'' was an American periodical published by the publishing house of Charles Scribner's Sons from January 1887 to May 1939. ''Scribner's Magazine'' was the second magazine out of the Scribner's firm, after the publication of ' ...
'' five years earlier.["Seward's 'Chinese Immigration'", p. 957.]
The first jobs Chinese laborers took in Wyoming were on the railroad, working for the Union Pacific company (UP) as maintenance-of-way
A railway track (British English and UIC terminology) or railroad track (American English), also known as permanent way or simply track, is the structure on a railway or railroad consisting of the rails, fasteners, railroad ties (sleepers, ...
workers.[ Chinese workers soon became an asset to Union Pacific and worked along UP lines and in UP coal mines from Laramie to Evanston. Most Chinese workers in Wyoming ended up working in Sweetwater County, but a large number settled in ]Carbon
Carbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent
In chemistry, the valence (US spelling) or valency (British spelling) of an element is the measure of its combining capacity with o ...
and Uinta counties. Most Chinese people in the area were men working in the mine.[ Racism against Chinese immigrants was widespread and largely uncontroversial at the time. Tucker, in the aforementioned 1884 article, referred to Asian immigrants as "...the Asiatic race, alien in blood, habits, and civilization". He also noted, "Chinese are the chief element in this Asiatic population."][
]
In 1874–75, after labor unrest disrupted coal production, the Union Pacific Coal Department hired Chinese laborers to work in their coal mines throughout southern Wyoming. Even so, the Chinese population rose slowly at first; however, where there were Chinese immigrants, they were generally concentrated in one area.[ At Red Desert, a remote section camp in Sweetwater County, there were 20 inhabitants, of whom 12 were Chinese. All 12 were laborers who worked under an American foreman. To the east of Red Desert was another remote section camp, Washakie. An American section foreman lived there amongst 23 others, including 13 Chinese laborers and an Irish crew foreman.][ In the various section camps along the main line of the Union Pacific Railroad, Chinese workers far outnumbered any other nationality.][ Though the 79 Chinese in Sweetwater County in 1870 represented only 4% of the total population, they were, again, concentrated. In Rock Springs and Green River, the largest towns along the UP line, there were no Chinese residents reported in 1870.][
Throughout the 1870s, the Chinese population in Sweetwater County and all of Wyoming steadily increased. During the decade, Wyoming's total population rose from 9,118 to 20,789.][ In the 1870 U.S. Census, what the government today calls "Asian and Pacific Islanders" represented 143 members of the population of Wyoming. The increase during the 1870s was the largest percentage increase in the Asian population of Wyoming of any decade since; the increase represented a 539% jump in the Asian population.][ By 1880, most Chinese residents in Sweetwater County lived in Rock Springs. At that time, Wyoming was home to 914 "Asians"; that number fell significantly during the 1880s to 465.][Historic Wyoming Census (1870–1990)]
Although most Chinese workers in 1880 were employed in the coal mines around Wyoming and Sweetwater County, the Chinese in Rock Springs worked mostly in occupations outside of mining. In addition to Chinese laborers and miners, a professional gambler, a priest, a cook, and a barber resided in the city.[ In ]Green River, Wyoming
Green River is a city in and the county seat of Sweetwater County, Wyoming, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. The population was 12,515 at the 2010 census.
History
The townsite of Green River, Dakota Territory was platte ...
, there was a Chinese doctor. Chinese servants and waiters found work in Green River and in Fort Washakie
Fort Washakie was a U.S. Army fort in what is now the U.S. state of Wyoming. The fort was established in 1869 and named Camp Augur after General Christopher C. Augur, commander of the Department of the Platte. In 1870 the camp was renamed Camp ...
. In Atlantic City
Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...
, Miner's Delight, and Red Canyon, Wyoming, Chinese gold miners were employed. However, the majority of the 193 Chinese residing in Sweetwater County by 1880 worked in the coal mines or on the railroad.[Gardner, ''Wyoming and the Chinese'']
Causes
The riot was the result of a combination of racial prejudice and general resentment against Union Pacific.[ In 1882, the ]Chinese Exclusion Act
The Chinese Exclusion Act was a United States federal law signed by President Chester A. Arthur on May 6, 1882, prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers for 10 years. The law excluded merchants, teachers, students, travelers, and diplom ...
required that "... from and after the expiration of ninety days next after the passage of this act, and until the expiration of ten years next after the passage of this act, the coming of Chinese laborers to the United States be, and the same is hereby, suspended; and during such suspension it shall not be lawful for any Chinese laborer to come."[Chinese Exclusion Act, 1882.] In the years preceding the Rock Springs massacre, the importation of Chinese labor was seen as a "system worse than slavery".[''The New York Times,'' "Labor Meeting at Buffalo".] The white miners at Rock Springs, being mostly Cornish, Irish, Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
, and Welsh immigrants, believed lower-paid Chinese laborers drove down their wages.[Saxton, ''The Rise and Fall of the White Republic'', p. 310.][''The New York Times'', "The Rock Springs Massacre", p. 1.][''The New York Times,'' "The Chinese Must Leave".][Max, "Not the Chinese, but the Land-Thieves", p. 4.][Shewin, "Observations on the Chinese Laborer", p. 91.]
The Chinese at Rock Springs were aware of the animosity and rising racial tension with white miners, but had not taken any precautions, as no prior events indicated there would be any race riots.[ Underlying the outbreak of violence were racism and resentment of the policies of the Union Pacific Coal Department. Until 1875, the mines in Rock Springs were worked by whites; in that year, a strike occurred, and the strikers were replaced with Chinese ]strikebreaker
A strikebreaker (sometimes called a scab, blackleg, or knobstick) is a person who works despite a strike. Strikebreakers are usually individuals who were not employed by the company before the trade union dispute but hired after or during the st ...
s less than two weeks after the strike began.[ The company resumed mining with 50 white miners and 150 Chinese miners in its employ. As more Chinese arrived in Rock Springs, bitterness from the white miners increased.][ At the time of the massacre, there were about 150 white miners and 331 Chinese miners in Rock Springs.][
In the two years before the massacre, a "Whitemen's Town" was established in Rock Springs.][ By 1883, the Knights of Labor organized a chapter in Rock Springs. The Knights were one of the major groups which spearheaded opposition to Chinese labor during the 1880s;][ in 1882, the Knights had worked for the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act.][ No evidence has been uncovered to prove that the national Knights of Labor organization was behind the massacre at Rock Springs.][ In August 1885, notices were posted from Evanston to Rock Springs, demanding the expulsion of Chinese immigrants, and on the evening of September 1, 1885, one day before the violence, white miners in Rock Springs held a meeting about the Chinese immigrants. It was rumored that threats were made that night against the Chinese, according to immigrants then residing there.]["History Matters", ''To This We Dissented'']
Massacre
Chronology
At 7:00 a.m. on September 2, 1885, ten white men, in ordinary garb and miner's uniforms, arrived at coal pit number six at the Rock Springs mine. They declared that the Chinese laborers had no right to work in a particularly desirable "room" in the mine; miners were paid by the ton, thus location was important to the miners.[Daniels, ''Asian America'', pp 61–63.] A fight broke out, and two Chinese workers at pit number six were badly beaten. One of the Chinese workers later died due to his injuries. The white miners, most of whom were members of the Knights of Labor
Knights of Labor (K of L), officially Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor, was an American labor federation active in the late 19th century, especially the 1880s. It operated in the United States as well in Canada, and had chapters also ...
, walked out of the mine.[
After the work stoppage at pit number six, more white miners assembled near the town. They marched to Rock Springs by way of the railroad, carrying firearms.][ At about 10:00 a.m., the bell in the Knights of Labor meeting hall tolled, and the miners inside the building joined the already large group.][ There were white miners who opted to go to saloons instead of joining the gathering mob, but by 2:00 p.m., the saloons and grocers were persuaded by a Union Pacific official to close.][
With the saloons and grocers closed, about 150 men, armed with ]Winchester rifle
Winchester rifle is a comprehensive term describing a series of lever action repeating rifles manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. Developed from the 1860 Henry rifle, Winchester rifles were among the earliest repeaters. The Mo ...
s, moved toward Chinatown
A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...
in Rock Springs.[ They moved in two groups and entered Chinatown by crossing separate bridges. The larger group entered by way of the railroad bridge and was divided into squads, a few of which remained standing on the opposite side of the bridge outside Chinatown. The smaller group entered by way of the town's plank bridge.][
Squads from the larger group broke off and moved up the hill toward coal pit number three. One squad took up a position at the pit number three coal shed; another, at the ]pump house
Pumping stations, also called pumphouses in situations such as drilled wells and drinking water, are facilities containing pumps and equipment for pumping fluids from one place to another. They are used for a variety of infrastructure systems, ...
. A warning party was sent ahead of the squads into Chinatown. They warned the Chinese they had one hour to pack up and leave town. After only 30 minutes,[ the first gunshots were fired by the squad at the pump house, followed by a volley from those at the coal shed. Lor Sun Kit, a Chinese laborer, was shot and fell to the ground.][ As the group at coal pit number three rejoined them, the crowd pressed on toward Chinatown, some men firing their weapons as they went.][ The smaller group of white miners at the plank bridge divided itself into squads and surrounded Chinatown. One squad stayed at the plank bridge to cut off any Chinese escape.][
As the white miners moved into Chinatown, the Chinese became aware of the riot and that Leo Dye Bah and Yip Ah Marn, residents from the west and east sides of Chinatown, had already been killed. As the news of the murders spread, the Chinese fled in fear and confusion. They ran in every direction: up the hill behind coal pit number three; others, along the base of the hill at coal pit number four; others still, from the eastern end of town, fled across Bitter Creek to the opposite hill; and more fled the western end of Chinatown across the base of the hill to the right of coal pit number five. The mob came from three directions by this time, from the east and west ends of town and from the wagon road.][ The Chinese immigrants present at the Rock Springs massacre presented their own grisly account of the ]mêlée
A melee ( or , French: mêlée ) or pell-mell is disorganized hand-to-hand combat in battles fought at abnormally close range with little central control once it starts. In military aviation, a melee has been defined as " air battle in which ...
to the Chinese consul in New York City:
By 3:30 p.m. the massacre was well under way.[ A group of women in Rock Springs had gathered at the plank bridge, where they stood and cheered on the rampage. Two of the women reportedly fired shots at the Chinese.][ As the riot wore on into the night, the Chinese miners scattered into the hills, lying in the grass to hide. Between four and nine p.m., rioters set fire to the camp houses belonging to the coal company. By nine p.m., all but one Chinese camp house was burned completely. In all, 79 Chinese homes were destroyed by fire.][ Damage to Chinese-owned property was estimated at around $147,000.][Larson, ''History of Wyoming'', pp 141–144.][
Some Chinese died on the banks of Bitter Creek as they fled, others near the railroad bridge as they attempted to escape Chinatown.][ The rioters threw Chinese bodies into the flames of burning buildings.][ Other Chinese immigrants, who had hidden in their houses instead of fleeing, were murdered, and then their bodies were burned with their houses.][ Those who could not run, including the sick, were burned alive in their camp houses.][ Many of the Chinese who were burned in their houses apparently tried "to dig a hole in the cellar to hide themselves. But the fire overtook them when about half way in the hole, burning their lower limbs to a crisp and leaving the upper trunk untouched." One remaining Chinese immigrant was found dead in a laundry house in Whitemen's Town, his home demolished by rioters.][
The attacks at Rock Springs were extraordinarily violent, revealing a long-held, almost "]feral
A feral () animal or plant is one that lives in the wild but is descended from domesticated individuals. As with an introduced species, the introduction of feral animals or plants to non-native regions may disrupt ecosystems and has, in some ...
", hatred of the victims.[ The sheer brutality of the violence "startled" the entire country.][ Besides those who were burned alive, Chinese miners were scalped, mutilated, branded, decapitated, dismembered, and hanged from gutter spouts.][ One of the Chinese miners' penis and testicles were cut off and toasted in a nearby saloon as a "trophy of the hunt".][ The events amounted to racial terrorism.][Courtwright, ''Violent Land'', pp 157–158.]
There were 28 confirmed deaths, and at least 15 miners were wounded.[ But various sources assert that 40 to 50 fatalities might be a more accurate number, as some of those who fled were never accounted for.][Chollak, Mark]
The Rock Springs Massacre – September 2, 1885
" (lecture outline), History 1251: History of Wyoming, ''University of Wyoming
The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...
'', Spring 2006, Retrieved May 6, 2007.[Lyman, Stanford Morris.]
The Rock Springs Riot: A Moment in Exclusion's Proactive History
, ''Roads to Dystopia: Sociological Essays on the Postmodern Condition'', (Google Books
Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical c ...
), University of Arkansas Press, 2001, pp 132–134, (), Retrieved May 6, 2007.[ The Chinese consul in New York City compiled a detailed list of the massacre's victims.
]
Names of the dead
Source:[All names came from the following source. "History Matters: A U.S. Survey Course on the Web"]
To This We Dissented: The Rock Springs Riot
''George Mason University'', accessed November 19, 2011
Bodies found mutilated
*Leo Sun Tsung, 51: found in his hut with multiple wounds, including a bullet wound to the face
*Leo Kow Boot, 24: found between mines three and four with a bullet wound to the neck
*Yii See Yen, 36: found near Bitter Creek with a bullet wound to the temple
*Leo Dye Bah, 56: found near the plank bridge with a bullet wound to the chest
Bodies found burned
*Choo Bah Quot, 23: found in a hut adjoining Camp No. 34, partially burned
*Sia Bun Ning, 37: head, neck and shoulders found in a hut near the Chinese temple, the rest of the body had been burned off
*Leo Lung Hong, 45: upper torso found in a hut near Camp No. 27, the rest of the body was burned off
*Leo Chih Ming, 49: head and chest found in a hut, the rest of the body was burned off
*Liang Tsun Bong, 42: upper torso found in a hut, the rest of the body was burned off
*Hsu Ah Cheong, 32: skull found in a hut, no other remains were available
*Lor Han Lung, 32: sole and heel of left foot found in a hut near Camp No. 34
*Hoo Ah Nii, 43: right half of head and backbone found in a hut
*Leo Tse Wing, 39: lower half bones found in a hut near Camp No. 14
Bone fragments only or no bodies found
*Leo Jew Foo, 35
*Leo Tim Kwong, 31
*Hung Qwan Chuen, 42
*Tom He Yew, 34
*Mar Tse Choy
*Leo Lung Siang
*Yip Ah Marn
*Leo Lung Hon
*Leo Lung Hor
*Leo Ah Tsun
*Leang Ding
*Leo Hoy Yat
*Yuen Chin Sing
*Hsu Ah Tseng
*Chun Quan Sing
Outcome
Immediate aftermath
In the days following the riot, surviving Chinese immigrants in Rock Springs fled and were picked up by Union Pacific trains. By September 5, almost all survivors were in Evanston, Wyoming
Evanston is a city in and the county seat of Uinta County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 12,359 at the 2010 census. It is located near the border with Utah.
History
Evanston was named after James A. Evans, a civil engineer for th ...
, west of Rock Springs. Once there, they were subjected to threats of murder and other crimes; Evanston was another area in Wyoming where anti-Chinese sentiment was high.[Saxton, ''The Indispensable Enemy''.]
Rumors of the return of the Chinese to Rock Springs circulated immediately after the riots. On September 3, the ''Rock Springs Independent'' published an editorial which confirmed the rumors of "the return", as a few Chinese began to trickle back into town to search for valuables. ''The Independent'' said of the return of Chinese laborers to Rock Springs, "It means that Rock Springs is killed, as far as white men are concerned, if such program is carried out."[''Rock Springs Independent'', "The return!"] The massacre was defended in the local newspaper, and, to an extent, in other western newspapers. In general, however, Wyoming newspapers disapproved of the acts of the massacre while supporting the cause of white miners.
Wyoming's territorial Governor Francis E. Warren visited Rock Springs on September 3, 1885, the day after the riot, to make a personal assessment. After his trip to Rock Springs, Warren traveled to Evanston, where he sent telegrams to U.S. President Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...
appealing for federal troops. Back in Rock Springs, the riot had calmed, but the situation was still unstable. Two companies of the United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
's 7th Infantry arrived on September 5, 1885. One company, under the command of a Lieutenant Colonel Anderson, was stationed in Evanston, Wyoming; the other, under a Colonel Chipman, was stationed in Rock Springs. At Camp Murray
Camp Murray is located adjacent to Joint Base Lewis–McChord, Washington. It is home to the Washington Army National Guard, Washington State Guard and the Washington Air National Guard.
See also
* Washington National Guard Museum
* Washington ...
, Utah Territory
The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th state. ...
, Colonel Alexander McDowell McCook
Alexander McDowell McCook (April 22, 1831June 12, 1903) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War.
Early life
McCook was born in Columbiana County, Ohio. A Scottish family, the McCooks were prominent i ...
was ordered to augment the garrison sent to Wyoming with six more companies.
On September 9, 1885, one week after the massacre, six companies of soldiers arrived in Wyoming
Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...
. Four of the six companies then escorted the Chinese back to Rock Springs.[Camp Pilot Butte, National Register of Historic Places.] Once back in Rock Springs, the Chinese laborers found scorched tracts of land where their homes once stood. The mining company had buried only a few dead; others remained lying in the open, mangled, decomposing, and partially eaten by dogs, hogs, or other animals.
The situation in Rock Springs was stabilized as early as September 15, when Warren first requested the removal of federal troops, but the mines at Rock Springs remained closed for a time. On September 30, 1885, white miners, mostly Finnish
Finnish may refer to:
* Something or someone from, or related to Finland
* Culture of Finland
* Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland
* Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people
* Finnish cuisine
See also ...
immigrants who were members of the Knights of Labor, walked out of mines in Carbon County, Wyoming
Carbon County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Wyoming. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 14,537. Its county seat is Rawlins, Wyoming, Rawlins. Its south border abuts the north line of Colorado.
...
, in protest of the company's continued use of Chinese miners. In Rock Springs, the white miners were not back at work in late September, because the company still used Chinese labor. Rock Springs steadily became quieter, and, on October 5, 1885, emergency troops, except for two companies, were removed. However, the temporary posts of Camp Medicine Butte, established in Evanston, and of Camp Pilot Butte, in Rock Springs, remained long after the riot. Camp Pilot Butte closed in 1899 after the onset of the Spanish–American War
, partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence
, image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg
, image_size = 300px
, caption = (clock ...
.
The labor strike was unsuccessful, and the miners went back to work within a couple of months. The national Knights of Labor organization refused to support the Carbon strike and the hold out by white miners in Rock Springs following the Rock Springs Riot. The organization avoided supporting the miners along the Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...
, because it did not want to be seen as condoning the violence at Rock Springs.[''The New York Times'', "The Rock Springs Massacre", p. 3.] When the Union Pacific Coal Department reopened the mines, it fired 45 white miners connected to the violence.
Arrests
After the riot in Rock Springs, sixteen men were arrested, including Isaiah Washington, a member-elect to the territorial legislature.[ The men were taken to jail in ]Green River Green River may refer to:
Rivers
Canada
* Green River (British Columbia), a tributary of the Lillooet River
*Green River, a tributary of the Saint John River, also known by its French name of Rivière Verte
*Green River (Ontario), a tributary of ...
, where they were held until after a Sweetwater County grand jury
A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...
refused to bring indictments.[ In explaining its decision, the grand jury declared that there was no cause for legal action, stating, in part: "We have diligently inquired into the occurrence at Rock Springs. ... ough we have examined a large number of witnesses, no one has been able to testify to a single criminal act committed by any known white person that day."][
Those arrested as suspects in the riot were released a little more than a month later, on October 7, 1885. On their release, they were "...met ... by several hundred men, women and children, and treated to a regular ]ovation
The ovation ( la, ovatio from ''ovare'': to rejoice) was a form of the Roman triumph. Ovations were granted when war was not declared between enemies on the level of nations or states; when an enemy was considered basely inferior (e.g., slaves, p ...
", according to ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''.[''The New York Times'', "Anti Chinese Sentiment".] The defendants in the Rock Springs case enjoyed the same broad community consent that lynch mobs often received.[ No person or persons were ever convicted in the violence at Rock Springs.
]
Diplomatic and political issues
After the riot, the U.S. government hesitated to make amends to the Chinese for the massacre.[Waley-Cohen, ''The Sextants of Beijing'', pp 176–177.] In China, the governor-general
Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
of the Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
region suggested that Americans in China might be the target of revenge for the events in Rock Springs.[ The American envoy to China, ]Charles Harvey Denby
Colonel Charles Denby (June 16, 1830 – January 13, 1904) was a U.S. Union officer in the Civil War and diplomat. He was the father of Edwin C. Denby, a U.S. Representative from Michigan, and later Secretary of the Navy, and Charles Denby ...
, and others in the diplomatic corps reported rising anti-American sentiment in Hong Kong and in Canton, Guangdong, following the riot.[ American diplomats warned their government that the backlash from the massacre could ruin U.S. trade with China; they also reported that ]British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
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* British English, ...
merchants and newspapers in China were encouraging the Chinese to "stand up for their oppressed countrymen in America."[ Denby advised that U.S. Secretary of State Thomas Bayard obtain compensation for the victims of the massacre.][Pletcher, ''The Diplomacy of Involvement'', pp 148–149.]
The United States government
The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...
agreed to pay compensation for the damaged property but not for the actual victims of the massacre, although Bayard was inclined to resist the requests for payments.[ In a letter to the minister of China's Washington ]legation
A legation was a diplomatic representative office of lower rank than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an ambassador, a legation was headed by a Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, minister. Ambassadors diplomatic rank, out ...
dated February 18, 1886, he expressed a personal view that the violence against Chinese immigrants was precipitated by their resistance to cultural assimilation
Cultural assimilation is the process in which a minority group or culture comes to resemble a society's majority group or assume the values, behaviors, and beliefs of another group whether fully or partially.
The different types of cultural assi ...
, and that racism against Chinese was typically found among other immigrants rather than the majority of the populace: Denby's predictions caused Bayard to seek a Congressionally appropriated indemnity
In contract law, an indemnity is a contractual obligation of one party (the ''indemnitor'') to compensate the loss incurred by another party (the ''indemnitee'') due to the relevant acts of the indemnitor or any other party. The duty to indemni ...
. At Bayard's urging, the U.S. Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...
provided US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
147,748.74 as an indemnity.[ The compensation was made as a monetary gift and not as a legal decree of responsibility for the massacre and the outcome amounted to a minor diplomatic victory for China.][Tucker, "Limitations on the treaty-making power under the Constitution of the United States", pp 271–273.]
Correspondence between Wyoming's territorial Governor, Francis Warren, and Union Pacific officials during Warren's term in office indicate that he petitioned the company for years to clear the titles on land he owned.[ He condemned the riot as "the most brutal and damnable outrage that ever occurred in any country."][Fontes and Fontes, ''Wyoming'', p. 14.][The U.S. National Archives holds dozens of letters to the ]Department of the Interior
The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...
concerning Warren as governor of Wyoming that were written following the massacre. Many letters supported him, including one from UP President Charles Francis Adams, Jr.
Charles Francis Adams Jr. (May 27, 1835 – March 20, 1915) was an American author, historian, and railroad and park commissioner who served as the president of the Union Pacific Railroad from 1884 to 1890. He served as a colonel in the Union Arm ...
, but there were many letters from political enemies which depicted him as "so deeply involved in business that he could not properly attend to the duties of his position." In the end, letters from two Wyoming lawyers charged that Warren illegally used federal funds when he appointed business associates to political positions. They also charged that he used his position to further his business interests in Wyoming. Warren nearly resigned his office as early as March 1886 but rescinded his resignation before it reached President Cleveland, who suspended him as governor on November 5, 1886 and appointed George W. Baxter to the position. See Jackson, "The Governorship of Wyoming, 1885–1889".
Reaction
After the riot, rhetoric and reaction came from publications and key political figures concerning the events. ''The New York Times'' blasted the city of Rock Springs in the first of at least two editorials on the topic, stating, "the appropriate fate for a community of this kind would be that of Sodom and Gomorrah
Sodom and Gomorrah () were two legendary biblical cities destroyed by God for their wickedness. Their story parallels the Genesis flood narrative in its theme of God's anger provoked by man's sin (see Genesis 19:1–28). They are mentioned frequ ...
".[''The New York Times,'' "Mob law in Wyoming".] In another ''Times'' editorial on November 10, 1885, the paper continued to assail not only the residents of Rock Springs who were involved in the violence, but those who stood by and let the mob continue its behavior.[''The New York Times'', "Protection of the Chinese".] Newspapers in Wyoming, such as the ''Cheyenne Tribune'' and the ''Laramie Boomerang
The ''Laramie Boomerang'', formerly the ''Laramie Daily Boomerang'', is a newspaper in Laramie, Wyoming, USA.
History
The newspaper was established in March 1881 by American humorist Edgar Wilson ("Bill") Nye, who named the paper after his mule ...
'', reacted with sympathy toward the white miners. The ''Boomerang'' stated it "regretted" the riot but found extenuating circumstances surrounding the violence.[
In addition to newspapers, anti-Chinese sentiment and stereotypes came from other publications.][ ''The Chautauquan: A Weekly Newsmagazine'' characterized the Chinese as weak and defenseless, stating in its coverage of the massacre: "To murder an industrious Chinaman is the same kind of fiendish work as the murder of women and children – it is equally a violation of the rights of the defenceless."]["The Massacre in Wyoming." ''The Chautauquan: A Weekly Newsmagazine''. November 1885, p. 113.]
Knights of Labor
Knights of Labor (K of L), officially Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor, was an American labor federation active in the late 19th century, especially the 1880s. It operated in the United States as well in Canada, and had chapters also ...
leader Terence Powderly wrote in a letter to W.W. Stone (excerpts of which he included in a report to the U.S. Congress) that, "It is not necessary for me to speak of the numerous reasons given for the opposition to this particular race – their habits, religion, customs and practices ..." Powderly blamed the "problem" of Chinese immigration on the failings of the 1882 Exclusion Act. He faulted lax law enforcement, not those involved in the riots, for the attacks at Rock Springs. Powderly wrote that the U.S. Congress should stop "winking at violations of this statute" and reform the laws which barred Chinese immigration, which he believed could have prevented incidents such as "the recent assault upon the Chinese at Rock Springs".[Stone, "The Knights of Labor on the Chinese Labor Situation", p. 1.]
In December 1885, U.S. President Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...
presented his State of the Union
The State of the Union Address (sometimes abbreviated to SOTU) is an annual message delivered by the president of the United States to a joint session of the United States Congress near the beginning of each calendar year on the current conditio ...
report to Congress, and in it, his reaction to the Rock Springs massacre.[Before 1934, the State of the Union was usually given before the New Year, and between 1801 and 1912 the message was presented as a lengthy, written report to the U.S. Congress. See Peters, "State of the Union Messages"] Cleveland's report pointed out that the United States was interested in good relations with China. He stated, "All of the power of this government should be exhorted to maintain the amplest good faith towards China in the treatment of these men, and the inflexible sternness of the law ... must be insisted upon ... race prejudice is the chief factor to originating these disturbances".[''The New York Times'', "The Message to Congress".]
Post-massacre violence
The massacre at Rock Springs led to other incidents of anti-Chinese aggression, primarily in Washington Territory, though there were incidents in Oregon and other states as well. Near Newcastle, Washington
Newcastle is an Eastside city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 10,380 at the 2010 census and an estimated 12,292 in 2019.
Although Newcastle was not incorporated until 1994, it has been an important settlement an ...
a mob of whites burned down the barracks of 36 Chinese coal miners.[ Throughout the ]Puget Sound
Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...
area, Chinese workers were driven out of communities and subject to violence in Washington cities and towns, including Tacoma, Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
, and Issaquah
Issaquah ( ) is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 40,051 at the 2020 census. Located in a valley and bisected by Interstate 90, the city is bordered by the Sammamish Plateau to the north and the "Issaquah Alp ...
. Chinese workers were driven out of other Washington towns, but sources indicated, as early as 1891, that the above events were specifically connected to the wave of violence touched off at Rock Springs.[Grant, ''History of Seattle, Washington''][Long, "Tacoma expels the entire Chinese community on November 3, 1885"][Long, "White and Indian hop pickers attack Chinese".]
The wave of anti-Chinese violence in the western United States following the Rock Springs Riot spread further, to the state of Oregon.[ Mobs drove Chinese workers out of small towns throughout the state in late 1885 and mid-1886.][History of Washington State & the Pacific Northwest, "Lesson Fifteen".] Other states reported incidents as well: As far away as Augusta, Georgia
Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navig ...
, anger was expressed against the Chinese in response to the massacre at Rock Springs. According to ''The New York Times'', the rioting in Rock Springs fueled the desire of anti-Chinese Georgians in Augusta to air their grievances.[''The New York Times'', "The Chinese in Augusta"]
Significance and context
The Rock Springs massacre was seen by observers at the time, and by historians today, as one of the worst and most significant instance of anti-Chinese sentiment in the United States
Anti-Chinese sentiment in the United States dates to the mid-19th century, shortly after Chinese immigrants, the ancestors of many Chinese Americans, first arrived in North America. It has taken many forms, including prejudice; racist immigration ...
.[ The riot received widespread media coverage from publications such as '' The National Police Gazette'' and ''The New York Times''.]["The Chinese Massacre", ''The National Police Gazette'', September 19, 1885, No. 418, p. 2.] Among the events of anti-Chinese violence in the American west, the Rock Springs massacre is considered the most widely publicized.[
Today, nearly all historians hold the view that the prime factor which contributed to the riot was race prejudice.][Daniels, ''Incident at Bitter Creek'', pp. 144–145.] However, a 1990 work on the Rock Springs massacre, written by journalist Craig Storti __NOTOC__
Craig may refer to:
Geology
*Craig (landform), a rocky hill or mountain often having large casims or sharp intentations.
People (and fictional characters)
* Craig (surname)
* Craig (given name)
Places
Scotland
*Craig, Angus, aka Barony ...
, marginalized the racial factor and put a stronger emphasis on the economic factors which contributed to violence.[ His book, ''Incident at Bitter Creek: The Rock Springs Massacre'', was widely criticized in reviews,][Chan, ''Incident at Bitter Creek''.][Armentrout Ma, ''Incident at Bitter Creek''.][Hardaway, ''Incident at Bitter Creek''] though Storti stated he represented the historical record as it stood. There were labor considerations that contributed to the violence in Rock Springs, though they are generally seen as less significant.[ The use of Chinese workers by the railroad during an 1875 strike created widespread resentment among the white miners, which continued to build until the Rock Springs massacre. Storti's book described anti-Chinese racism as "pervasive" even while downplaying its significance to the riot.][ The view that the Chinese refused to
assimilate into American culture was held historically and still carries some weight in present-day interpretations of the historical record.][
Present-day Rock Springs has a population pushing 20,000. The former settlement is a full-fledged city. The area that once encompassed Camp Pilot Butte is located on the north bank of Bitter Creek, in the northwest part of the city. The camp covered acres of Union Pacific property; the parade ground was in the center of a present-day city block bounded by Soulsby Street on the west, Pilot Butte Avenue on the east, Bridger Avenue on the north and Elias Avenue on its south.][ In 1973, the area where the army post once existed was listed on the U.S. ]National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
as a historic district
A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...
. At that time, there were only two remaining original structures.[ The two buildings were owned by the Saints Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church in Rock Springs.][This church was named after the ]Saints Cyril and Methodius
Cyril (born Constantine, 826–869) and Methodius (815–885) were two brothers and Byzantine Christian theologians and missionaries. For their work evangelizing the Slavs, they are known as the "Apostles to the Slavs".
They are credited wit ...
and is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cheyenne
The Diocese of Cheyenne ( la, Dioecesis Cheyennensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church that encompasses the entire U.S. state of Wyoming. It is suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the met ...
. The buildings are no longer extant, and the property is no longer listed on the National Register. The area that was once Chinatown, just north of where Camp Pilot Butte once stood, had a public elementary school built over part of it. In general, the locations in Rock Springs associated with the massacre have been surrounded and absorbed by the city's growth.[
]
References
Notes
Sources
* Armentrout Ma, L. Eve
''Incident at Bitter Creek: The Story of the Rock Springs Chinese Massacre'' – Craig Storti
(Book review
__NOTOC__
A book review is a form of literary criticism in which a book is merely described (summary review) or analyzed based on content, style, and merit.
A book review may be a primary source, opinion piece, summary review or scholarly revie ...
via JSTOR
JSTOR (; short for ''Journal Storage'') is a digital library founded in 1995 in New York City. Originally containing digitized back issues of academic journals, it now encompasses books and other primary sources as well as current issues of j ...
), ''The Journal of Asian Studies'', Vol. 50, No. 4, November 1991, pp. 922–23. Retrieved May 5, 2007.
* Bayard, Thomas F., Letter from Bayard to Cheng Tsao Ju, February 18, 1886, Microfilm M99, Notes to Foreign Legations in the United States from the Department of State, 1834–1906, China, National Archives Annex, College Park, Md.
Camp Pilot Butte
, National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form, ''Diocese of Cheyenne''. Retrieved April 29, 2007.
* Chan, Loren B
''Incident at Bitter Creek: The Story of the Rock Springs Chinese Massacre'' – Craig Storti
, (Book review
__NOTOC__
A book review is a form of literary criticism in which a book is merely described (summary review) or analyzed based on content, style, and merit.
A book review may be a primary source, opinion piece, summary review or scholarly revie ...
via JSTOR
JSTOR (; short for ''Journal Storage'') is a digital library founded in 1995 in New York City. Originally containing digitized back issues of academic journals, it now encompasses books and other primary sources as well as current issues of j ...
), ''The Journal of American History'', Vol. 78, No. 4, March 1992, pp. 1463–64. Retrieved May 5, 2007.
Chinese Exclusion Act, 1882
Text of Act, ''Mount Holyoke College''. Retrieved March 12, 2007.
* Courtwright, David T.
Violent Land: Single Men and the Social Disorder from the Frontier to the Inner City
', (Google Books
Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical c ...
), Harvard University Press, 1998 (). Retrieved May 7, 2007.
* Daniels, Roger.
Asian America: Chinese and Japanese in the United States Since 1850
', (Google Books
Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical c ...
), University of Washington Press, 1990 (). Retrieved April 30, 2007.
* Daniels, Roger.
''Incident at Bitter Creek: The Story of the Rock Springs Massacre'' – Craig Storti; Rock Springs Massacre
, (Book review
__NOTOC__
A book review is a form of literary criticism in which a book is merely described (summary review) or analyzed based on content, style, and merit.
A book review may be a primary source, opinion piece, summary review or scholarly revie ...
via JSTOR
JSTOR (; short for ''Journal Storage'') is a digital library founded in 1995 in New York City. Originally containing digitized back issues of academic journals, it now encompasses books and other primary sources as well as current issues of j ...
), ''The Pacific Historical Review'', Vol. 61, No. 1, February 1992. Retrieved May 4, 2007.
* Hane, Mikiso.
''Asian America: Chinese and Japanese in the United States Since 1850'' – Roger Daniels
, (Book review
__NOTOC__
A book review is a form of literary criticism in which a book is merely described (summary review) or analyzed based on content, style, and merit.
A book review may be a primary source, opinion piece, summary review or scholarly revie ...
via JSTOR
JSTOR (; short for ''Journal Storage'') is a digital library founded in 1995 in New York City. Originally containing digitized back issues of academic journals, it now encompasses books and other primary sources as well as current issues of j ...
), ''The Western Historical Quarterly'', Vol. 21, No. 2. May 1990, pp. 219–20. Retrieved May 8, 2007.
* Fontes, Justin and Fontes, Ron.
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Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical c ...
), Gareth Stevens, 2003 (). Retrieved May 8, 2007.
* Gardner, A. Dudley
Wyoming and the Chinese
"Wyoming History", Western Wyoming Community College. Retrieved March 12, 2007
* Grant, Frederic James.
History of Seattle, Washington
'' (Google Books
Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical c ...
), American Publishing and Engraving Co., 1891. Retrieved April 29, 2007.
* Hardaway, Roger D
''Incident at Bitter Creek: The Story of the Rock Springs Chinese Massacre'' – Craig Storti
, (Book review
__NOTOC__
A book review is a form of literary criticism in which a book is merely described (summary review) or analyzed based on content, style, and merit.
A book review may be a primary source, opinion piece, summary review or scholarly revie ...
via JSTOR
JSTOR (; short for ''Journal Storage'') is a digital library founded in 1995 in New York City. Originally containing digitized back issues of academic journals, it now encompasses books and other primary sources as well as current issues of j ...
), ''The Western Historical Quarterly'', Vol. 23, No. 1, February 1992, pp. 102–3. Retrieved May 5, 2007.
* Healy, Patrick Joseph and Ng, Poon Chew
A Statement for Non-Exclusion
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Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical c ...
), 1905, p. 238–39. Retrieved May 2, 2007.
* "History Matters: A U.S. Survey Course on the Web"
To This We Dissented: The Rock Springs Riot
''George Mason University''. Retrieved March 12, 2007.
* History of Washington State & the Pacific Northwest,
, Center for Study of the Pacific Northwest, ''University of Washington''. Retrieved March 12, 2007.
* Jackson, W. Turrentine.
The Governorship of Wyoming, 1885–1889: A Study in Territorial Politics
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JSTOR (; short for ''Journal Storage'') is a digital library founded in 1995 in New York City. Originally containing digitized back issues of academic journals, it now encompasses books and other primary sources as well as current issues of j ...
), ''The Pacific Historical Review'', Vol. 13, No. 1, March 1944, pp. 1–11. Retrieved May 7, 2007.
* Larson, Taft Alfred.
History of Wyoming
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), University of Nebraska Press, 1990 (). Retrieved April 30, 2007.
* Long, Priscilla.
Tacoma expels the entire Chinese community on November 3, 1885
, ''The Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History'', January 17, 2003. Retrieved March 12, 2007.
* Long, Priscilla.
White and Indian hop pickers attack Chinese
, ''The Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History'', published by: History Ink, July 1, 2000. Retrieved March 12, 2007.
* Max, "Not the Chinese, but the Land-Thieves", ''Liberty (Not the Daughter but the Mother of Order)'', March 17, 1883
* ''The New York Times.''
, October 8, 1885, p. 1.
* ''The New York Times.''
,
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* ''The New York Times.''
,
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* ''The New York Times.''
, ( ttps://search.proquest.com/docview/92565227 ProQuest, November 3, 1870, p. 1. Retrieved May 2, 2007.
* ''The New York Times.''
The Message to Congress
,
ProQuest
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* ''The New York Times.''
, September 19, 1885, p. 4.
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* ''The New York Times.''
, September 26, 1885.
* Peters, Gerhard.
State of the Union Messages
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* Pletcher, David M.
The Diplomacy of Involvement: American Economic Expansion Across the Pacific, 1784–1900
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Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical c ...
), 2001, University of Missouri Press (). Retrieved May 3, 2007.
* ''Rock Springs Independent''
The return!
(Editorial), September 3, 1885, via George Mason University, "History Matters." Retrieved March 12, 2007.
* Saxton, Alexander.
The Indispensable Enemy: Labor and the Anti-Chinese Movement in California
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), University of California Press, 1971, (). Retrieved April 30, 2007.
* Saxton, Alexander and Roediger, David R. (Contributor).
The Rise and Fall of the White Republic
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* "Seward's 'Chinese Immigration'", ''Scribner's Monthly'', April 1881, no. 6.
* Shewin, H. "Observations on the Chinese Laborer", ''Overland Monthly and Out West Magazine'', January 1886, no. 37.
* Stone, W.W. "The Knights of Labor on the Chinese Labor Situation", ''Overland Monthly and Out West Magazine'', March 1886, no.39.
* Storti, Craig and Daniels, Roger.
Communication – Letter from Storti
''The Pacific Historical Review'', Vol. 61, No. 4, November 1992, pp. 594–95. Retrieved May 4, 2007.
* Tucker, Henry St. George.
Limitations on the treaty-making power under the Constitution of the United States
, (Google Books
Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical c ...
), Little, Brown, and Company, 1915. Retrieved May 3, 2007.
* Tucker, J.R.,
Race Progress in the United States
, ''The North American Review
The ''North American Review'' (NAR) was the first literary magazine in the United States. It was founded in Boston in 1815 by journalist Nathan Hale and others. It was published continuously until 1940, after which it was inactive until revived a ...
'', February 1884, no. 327.
* U.S. Census Bureau
Historic Wyoming Census
(PDF
Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. ...
), (1870–1990), "Wyoming Race and Hispanic Origin – 1870–1990"
census.gov
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* Wu, Jean Yu-Wen Shen and Song, Min, eds.
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), Rutgers University Press, New Jersey: 2000, pp. 51–52, 64, 367. ().
Further reading
*''The Chinese Massacre at Rock Springs, Wyoming Territory, September 2, 1885,'' Boston: Franklin Press – Rand Avery and Co., 1886.
*Carroll, Murray L. "Governor Francis E. Warren, The United States Army and the Chinese Massacre at Rock Springs", ''Annals of Wyoming'', 1987, Vol. 59 No. 2, pp. 16–27, ().
*Crane, Paul and Larson Alfred. "The Chinese Massacre", ''Annals of Wyoming'', XII:1, January 1940, pp. 47–55. Reprinted in Daniels Rogers, ed., ''Anti-Chinese Violence in North America'', op. cit.; and Storti, Craig, ''Incident at Bitter Creek: The Story of the Rock Springs Chinese Massacre''.
*Daniels, Roger, ed. ''Anti-Chinese Violence in North America: An Original Anthology'', Arno Press, New York: 1979. ().
*Hata, Nadine I
''Asian America: Chinese and Japanese in the United States since 1850''. Roger Daniels
, Book review, ''The Journal of American History'', Vol. 77, No. 1, June 1990, pp. 304–5.
* Ichioka, Yuji. "Asian Immigrant Coal Miners and the United Mine Workers of America: Race and Class at Rock Springs, Wyoming, 1907." ''Amerasia Journal'' 6#2 (1979): 1–23.
*Laurie, Clayton D. "Civil Disorder and the Military in Rock Springs, Wyoming: The Army's Role in the 1885 Chinese Massacre", ''Montana'', 1990, Vol. 40 No. 3, pp. 44–59 ().
*McClellan, Robert F.
''The Indispensable Enemy''. Alexander Saxton
, (Book review
__NOTOC__
A book review is a form of literary criticism in which a book is merely described (summary review) or analyzed based on content, style, and merit.
A book review may be a primary source, opinion piece, summary review or scholarly revie ...
) via (JSTOR
JSTOR (; short for ''Journal Storage'') is a digital library founded in 1995 in New York City. Originally containing digitized back issues of academic journals, it now encompasses books and other primary sources as well as current issues of j ...
), ''The Journal of Asian Studies'', Vol. 31, No. 1, November 1971, p. 176. Retrieved May 2, 2007.
*Storti, Craig. ''Incident at Bitter Creek: The Story of the Rock Springs Chinese Massacre'', Iowa State Press, First edition: 1990, (), ().
*Wei, William, Hom, Marlon K, et al., eds. "The Anti-Chinese Movement in Colorado: Interethnic Competition and Conflict on the Eve of Exclusion", ''Chinese America: History and Perspectives'', 1995, San Francisco: Chinese Historical Society of America, 1995, pp. 179–97. ().
*Yep, Laurence.
True Heroes
', (Ebsco
EBSCO Industries is an American company founded in 1944 by Elton Bryson Stephens Sr. and headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. The ''EBSCO'' acronym is based on ''Elton Bryson Stephens Company''. EBSCO Industries is a diverse company of over 40 ...
Host), Academic Search Premier, ''Horn Book Magazine'', November/December 2002, Vol. 78, Issue 6, (). Retrieved April 30, 2007.
External links
Chinese accounts of killings at Rock Springs (1885)
(PDF
Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. ...
): University of Colorado Page not found"br>Official Rock Springs, Wyoming website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rock Springs Massacre
1885 in Wyoming Territory
1885 murders in the United States
White American riots in the United States
Anti-Chinese violence in the United States
Asian-American riots in the United States
Labor disputes in the United States
1885 labor disputes and strikes
1885 riots
Massacres in 1885
Murder in Wyoming
Massacres in the United States
Massacres of ethnic groups
Chinese-American history
Mass shootings in Wyoming
Mining in Wyoming
Sweetwater County, Wyoming
Massacre
A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...
Wyoming Territory
Labor-related riots in the United States
Riots and civil disorder in Wyoming
American frontier
Labor disputes in Wyoming
September 1885 events
Hate crimes