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The Seattle riot of 1886 occurred on February 6–9, 1886, in
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 ...
,
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, amidst rising
anti-Chinese sentiment Anti-Chinese sentiment, also known as Sinophobia, is a fear or dislike of China, Chinese people or Chinese culture. It often targets Chinese minorities living outside of China and involves immigration, development of national identity i ...
caused by intense labor competition and in the context of an ongoing struggle between labor and capital in the
Western United States 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 ...
. The dispute arose when a mob affiliated with a local
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 ...
chapter formed small committees to carry out a forcible expulsion of all
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
from the city. Violence erupted between the Knights of Labor rioters and federal troops ordered in by 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 ...
. The incident resulted in the removal of over 200 Chinese civilians from Seattle and left two militia men and three rioters seriously injured.Many sources, like Laurie (cited), agree that around 200 Chinese left by ship on the morning of the 7th. Some sources, such as Crowley (cited), say that most of the remaining 150 also left later.


Background

During the 1840s, the
California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...
brought many Chinese people to the United States. Many had come in the hopes of improving their economic conditions, and their arrival was initially welcomed due to
labor shortage In economics, a shortage or excess demand is a situation in which the demand for a product or service exceeds its supply in a market. It is the opposite of an excess supply ( surplus). Definitions In a perfect market (one that matches a si ...
s. According to information from the U.S. Census, the Chinese population increased at a dramatic pace until 1890, though they never accounted for more than 0.2 percent of the U.S. population through the 1800s. After the Gold Rush, many Chinese people moved into the northwest territories of Oregon, Washington, and Montana in search of work, especially with the new mining opportunities and railroad expansion. Chinese workers developed a reputation for being efficient and were subjected to longer hours and lower wages than White workers despite strike efforts. White-owned companies recruited Chinese workers in order to undercut higher-paid White workers, which increased anti-Asian sentiment. Violent outbreaks against Chinese people in America occurred as early as the 1860s and continued to intensify in the 1870s, especially in California. Corporations continued to flood the labor market with Chinese workers. With work in short supply, unions and the White European immigrants who constituted these organizations felt angered and threatened by the Chinese work force. Unions such as the Knights of Labor and the
American Federation of Labor The American Federation of Labor (A.F. of L.) was a national federation of labor unions in the United States that continues today as the AFL-CIO. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions eager to provide mutu ...
supported
legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolled bill, enrolling, enactment of a bill, enacting, or promulgation, promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous Government, governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law i ...
that limited or excluded Chinese immigration. By the mid-1880s, a wave of anti-Chinese violence grew and spread into the
Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...
.


Rock Springs

Rock Springs was just the first outbreak of many in the West of anti-Chinese violence. It occurred in Rock Springs, in the
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 bou ...
. In the 1870s, the
Union Pacific 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 ...
coal mines began firing white strikers and replacing its previously all-white work force with cheaper Chinese laborers. The incident occurred on September 2, 1885. Fighting broke out in the mines between white and Chinese laborers. A mob destroyed and set aflame many Chinese homes, causing an estimated $140,000 of damage, killing 28, injuring 14, and sending the remaining immigrants fleeing into the surrounding area. Later, Governor Francis Warren telegraphed President Cleveland requesting federal
military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
assistance, due to a report that had surfaced that the Chinese, who had fled the town earlier, had now regrouped in nearby Evanston and had armed themselves. The Chinese and anti-Chinese mobs were set to meet, which prompted the commitment of federal troops to Rock Springs. The soldiers were not under orders to protect the Union Pacific Railroad or to protect the Chinese, as required by the Burlingame Treaty of 1868 with China. Officially, troops were deployed to Rock Springs to "prevent any disruption to the
United States mail The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the Federal government of the Uni ...
or the routes over which they are received." Eventually, diplomatic pressure from the Burlingame Treaty prompted President Cleveland to issue a new order to protect Chinese laborers "at points of threatened or actual violence" now that troops had been committed. The Chinese were then led by four companies of federal troops into the town without incident. This set a precedent for sending federal troops to protect the Chinese immigrants from frequent violence in the area, though the Cleveland administration evaded responsibility for the incident. It also set a precedent because not a single rioter was punished. They did pay a sum of $150,000 to the Chinese government, though never to the immigrants themselves. Federal forces remained in the area for another 14 years after the massacre, and, for the most part, union influence disappeared in the wake of the riot.


Seattle

Tensions in Seattle continued to rise when the Chinese laborers shifted from mining and railroad construction to
urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...
labor. Many whites felt as though the Chinese were driving them from the labor force by agreeing to work for less. They saw the Chinese as racially inferior "semislaves" who were unable to assimilate into the American way of life. Some argued that the hiring of Chinese workers would only serve to lower the
standard of living Standard of living is the level of income, comforts and services available, generally applied to a society or location, rather than to an individual. Standard of living is relevant because it is considered to contribute to an individual's quality ...
for the average American working man in the West, who would be forced to accept lower wages to compete. Others asserted that the Chinese workers were stripping America of her wealth because many immigrants sent paychecks back to their families in China. 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 ...
were leaders of the organized movement against Chinese workers in
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 ...
.Lesson Fifteen: Industrialization, Class, and Race: Chinese and the Anti-Chinese Movement in the Late 19th-Century Northwest
, History of Washington State & the Pacific Northwest, Center for Study of the Pacific Northwest, University of Washington. Retrieved 20 March 2007.
The Knights in
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 ...
were only loosely affiliated with the national organization. The chapter's organizer was Daniel Cronin, a 38-year-old
carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, Shipbuilding, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. ...
who came to 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 via
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
during the summer of 1885. Under Cronin's leadership, the Washington Knights of Labor went from a loose-knit band of workers to an organized and militant "brotherhood". In September 1885, Cronin warned Seattle's workers that riot and bloodshed would follow during the winter if the Chinese were not removed. It was Cronin and the leadership of the Knights of Labor who planned for the systematic expulsion of Seattle's Chinese; the group organized a territorial anti-Chinese congress and declared that all Chinese must leave Seattle by November 1, 1885.Schwantes, Carlos A.
Protest in a Promised Land: Unemployment, Disinheritance, and the Origin of Labor Militancy in the Pacific Northwest, 1885-1886
" (
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 The Western History Association (WHA), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, was founded in 1961 at Santa Fe, New Mexico by Ray Allen Billington et al. Included in the field of study are the American West and western Canada. The Western Histor ...
'', Vol. 13, No. 4. (Oct., 1982), pp. 373–390. Retrieved 20 March 2007.
After forming local coordinating committees, Cronin stepped away from his post as Knights leader and left the Chinese expulsion, largely, to other individuals. Disgruntled over the presence of 3000+ Chinese immigrants in the Seattle- Tacoma corridor, the Washington Knights organized a meeting on the 28th of September. The meeting was presided over by Tacoma's mayor,
Jacob Weisbach Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Ja ...
, and the assembled men concluded they must rid the area of "Chinese slave labor". They intended to speak to employers about their discharge, and thus formed local committees to enforce the expulsion if all Chinese were not removed from the town by November 1. Some Chinese were persuaded to evacuate at this point and between November 4–14, some 150 Chinese fled Seattle. This prompted territorial Governor Watson Squire to telegraph President Cleveland for troops, and he received soldiers under the command of Brig. Gen.
John Gibbon John Gibbon (April 20, 1827 – February 6, 1896) was a career United States Army officer who fought in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Early life Gibbon was born in the Holmesburg section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the four ...
by train the next morning. These soldiers never took action and were ordered back to garrison on November 17. The tensions did not end there, however, as Knights of Labor meetings continued through January. On February 6, 1886, the Knights again met and charged a six-man committee with delivering an ultimatum to the Chinese that they must leave Seattle or be forcibly removed.


Riot

On the morning of February 7, many "committees" forced their way into Chinese homes, demanding the Chinese pack their bags and report to the steamship ''
Queen of the Pacific ''Queen of the Pacific'' is a name or nickname of ships and places associated with the Pacific Ocean, the largest of Earth's oceans. Ships * In 1852, at the height of the age of the fast clipper sailing ships, the clipper ''Queen of the Pacif ...
'' at 1pm. The committees set up wagons through Seattle's Chinatown to haul baggage down to the pier. After a search was conducted for Chinese who fled or hid, the committees led some 350 Chinese from Chinatown to the pier. Local Sheriff
John McGraw John Joseph McGraw (April 7, 1873 – February 25, 1934) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager who was for almost thirty years manager of the New York Giants. He was also the third baseman of the pennant-winning 1890 ...
was aroused to enforce law and order with his force of deputies, but McGraw was sympathetic to the Knights and simply protected the Chinese immigrants from violence on their way to the pier. When Governor Squire ordered the dispersal of the mob and the release of the Chinese, the riotous mob ignored him. Thus, Squire called for the local "Seattle Rifles" militia and requested the aid of federal troops to assist McGraw. Meanwhile, at the dock, rioters were significantly short of raising the funds needed to transport 350 people by steamship. Only 97 of 350 Chinese had their fare paid. U.S. Justice Greene heard of the incident through an angered Chinese merchant and issued a writ of
habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, t ...
which required the captain of the ''Queen'' to produce the Chinese in court the next morning. At midnight, McGraw along with local militia blocked two attempts by the mob to lead the remaining 253 Chinese to a train to Tacoma. McGraw defused the situation by ordering the train to leave before the mob could reach it. The next morning, McGraw led the 97 passengers still on the ''Queen of the Pacific'' to the territorial court as ordered by Justice Greene. There was an incident along the way as the mob tried to block their progress and 8 Knights leaders were arrested. Once there, Greene informed the Chinese that they had a legal right to remain in the city. Though he promised to protect them, only 16 elected to stay and the rest were escorted back to the ship. By the time they had returned the mob had raised funds for the additional passage of 115 more Chinese and the boat set sail. It was agreed that the remaining 150 Chinese would depart on the steamship '' George Elder'' once funds had been raised. News of the agreement failed to spread throughout Seattle. As McGraw, his deputies, and the militiamen tried to lead the Chinese back to their homes, a new mob formed, incensed at the arrest of their leaders. The militiamen clubbed members of the mob with rifle butts when progress was impeded. When members of the mob began to wrest the militia rifles, shots rang out and stopped only after 2 militia men and 3 rioters lay seriously injured. The mob backed off and prepared for another charge when an extra company of militiamen arrived and sent the crowd into a confused state. Once McGraw stated that those responsible for the shooting would be prosecuted, the crowd dispersed. When a third mob threatened the lives of the militiamen who fired upon the crowd, Governor Squire issued martial law. Neither Greene nor Squire believed that McGraw and his combined militia force would be able to enforce martial law in the territory, and federal troops arrived in Seattle on February 10 and found it "devoid of traces...of the rioting". Squire ended martial law and restored local civil order on February 23. Most troops were recalled, but two companies of troops were left in Seattle for another 4 months after the riot.


Aftermath

The anti-Chinese violence of the 1880s, like that of the Seattle riot, took place against the background of the 1882
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 ...
that completely barred the immigration of all Chinese workers into the United States. Congress then voted to extend the ban in 1892 and 1902. This led to a dramatically reduced Chinese population in the U.S. in the 1890s into the 1900s. Those who did leave were restricted from being replaced by other Chinese immigrants. Congress paid $276,619.15 to the Chinese government in compensation for the rioting, but the actual victims never saw any such compensation. Though 13 men were tried in court in relation to the riot, not a single one was ever convicted of a crime. Both Mayor
Henry Yesler Henry Leiter Yesler (December 2, 1810 – December 16, 1892) was an entrepreneur and a politician, regarded as a founder of the city of Seattle. Yesler served two non-consecutive terms as Mayor of Seattle, and was the city's wealthiest resident ...
and Sheriff McGraw were unseated in the following election. Few Chinese continued to reside in the Seattle area following the riot. Many of the Chinese chose to return to China following the wave of racially inspired violence. There was considerable property loss because of their forced and hasty expulsion The Qing government could only seek to secure indemnities for the Seattle riot, knowing that the guilty parties would likely never be brought to answer for their crimes. This was because federal and territorial authorities had been largely unwilling to assist in declaring martial law and arresting the criminals The Chinese sought the advice of their Consuls in the U.S. and sent additional diplomats to investigate the matter and report back with possible actions. Ouyang Ming, the Chinese Consul-General of San Francisco concluded that the Chinese were not well liked by either the American public or the government. He proposed that the best way to prevent future harm to Chinese citizens was to bar all Chinese emigration to the states, feeling as though only trouble would result if things were left unchanged. Others, such as influential Governor-General Zhang Zhidang, disagreed. He proposed that the Chinese immigration policy remain fluid because of Chinese interests in the United States, and it did. Qing officials continued efforts in Washington to combat the unjust restrictions that had been placed on Chinese immigrants following the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882. The killing of Chinese gradually came to a stop in the years after 1886, however legislation restricting them continued. Protection of current and future Chinese in America proved difficult to achieve Chinese consul Goon Dip, a Chinese businessman, was largely responsible for the 2nd wave of Chinese immigration into Seattle and founded the cradle for Seattle's second Chinatown. Soon Japanese and Filipino immigrants also gravitated to the area because of the area's inexpensive housing and storefronts for their own businesses and restaurants. By the late 1930s, Chinatown was re-established in Seattle as a distinct and proud neighborhood. Many Chinese prospered despite lingering tensions. However, relations again soured after the surprise
attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...
by the Empire of Japan. Many Japanese Americans were rounded up in the spring of 1942 for "internment" camps throughout World War II. In response to anti-Japanese sentiment, many Chinese Americans in Seattle began distinguishing themselves with "I am Chinese" badges declaring that they were not Japanese. The area's population continued to diversify following World War II, as an increasing number of Filipinos passed through or settled in the area. This prompted Seattle Mayor William Devin to promote a new name for the neighborhood, the "International District," in 1951, though this still rankles some in the Chinese community.


See also

*
Chinese American history The history of Chinese Americans or the history of ethnic Chinese in the United States includes three major waves of Chinese immigration to the United States, beginning in the 19th century. Chinese immigrants in the 19th century worked in the C ...
* History of the Chinese Americans in Seattle *
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 ...
*
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 ...
* Anti-Chinese violence in Oregon *
Anti-Chinese violence in California Anti-Chinese violence in California includes a number of massacres, riots, expulsions and other violent actions that were directed at Chinese-American communities during the mid and late 19th century. The attacks on Chinese were often sparked by ...
*
Anti-Chinese violence in Washington There were at least several incidents of anti-Chinese violence in Washington, a United States territory and later, a U.S. state, which occurred during the 19th, 20th and 21st century. In the 19th century, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 created ...
*
Chinese massacre of 1871 The Los Angeles Chinese massacre of 1871 was a racial massacre targeting Chinese immigrants in Los Angeles, California, United States that occurred on October 24, 1871. Approximately 500 white and Hispanic Americans attacked, harassed, robbe ...
*
San Francisco riot of 1877 The San Francisco riot of 1877 was a three-day pogrom waged against Chinese immigrants in San Francisco, California by the city's majority white population from the evening of July 23 through the night of July 25, 1877. The ethnic violence which sw ...
* Rock Springs massacre, 1885 *
Attack on Squak Valley Chinese laborers, 1885 The Attack on Squak Valley Chinese laborers took place on September 7, 1885, in Squak Valley (now called Issaquah), Washington Territory, when a group of men fired their guns into several tents where a group of Chinese hop pickers were sleeping. ...
*
Tacoma riot of 1885 The Tacoma riot of 1885, also known as the 1885 Chinese expulsion from Tacoma, involved the forceful expulsion of the Chinese population from Tacoma, Washington Territory, on November 3, 1885. City leaders had earlier proposed a November 1 deadline ...
* Hells Canyon massacre, 1887 *
Pacific Coast Race Riots of 1907 The Pacific Coast race riots were a series of riots that took place within the United States and Canada. The riots, which resulted in violence, were the result of anti-Asian tension caused by white opposition to the increasing Asian population duri ...
* Bellingham riots of 1907 * Torreón massacre, 1911 in Mexico *
History of Seattle before 1900 Two conflicting perspectives exist for the early history of Seattle. There is the "establishment" view, which favors the centrality of the Denny Party (generally the Denny, Mercer, Terry, and Boren families), and Henry Yesler. A second, less didac ...
* List of United States immigration legislation *
List of incidents of civil unrest in the United States Listed are major episodes of civil unrest in the United States. This list does not include the numerous incidents of destruction and violence associated with various sporting events. 18th century *1783 – Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783, June 20 ...


Notes


References


External links


Anti-Chinese Riot at Seattle
''Harper’s Weekly'', March 6, 1886, p. 155, including illustrations. * George Kinnear
''Anti-Chinese Riots At Seattle, Wn., February 8th, 1886,''
originally published in the ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'', January 1, 1911. {{DEFAULTSORT:Seattle Riot Of 1886 1886 in the United States 1886 riots Anti-Chinese violence in the United States Asian-American riots in the United States History of Seattle Chinese-American culture in Seattle Riots and civil disorder in Washington (state) White American riots in the United States Asian-American issues 1886 in Washington Territory February 1886 events Ethnic cleansing in the United States