Ah Sam
Named in 6 stories. Back to all names
- May 25, 1889A Life-Changing Fall on Second and YeslerA hotel worker narrowly survives a twenty-foot plunge after a window sash collapses, highlighting the precarious reality of daily labor in 1889 Seattle.Yesler Avenue, Seattle, WA
- Jun 21, 1893A Ruling on the Geary ActCommissioner Emery issues a new interpretation of Chinese Exclusion, ordering deportation based on the failure to register under the Geary Act.Seattle, WA
- Oct 5, 1893The Opium Smuggler of the City of KingstonA baggage master is caught red-handed smuggling forty-five pounds of opium, but the customs inspector he tried to bribe was playing a double game.Port Townsend, WA
- Aug 12, 1894The Case of Ah Sam: A Seattle Commissioner Draws a Line Against Double PunishmentFederal Commissioner Emory ordered Ah Sam released after he had served six months for smuggling, ruling that deportation for the same offense would be unconstitutional double punishment—a rare limit on Chinese exclusion enforcement.Seattle, WA
- Feb 18, 1895The Afternoon a Seattle Crowd Cheered the ChinamanA boy’s taunts, a slap, and an arrest near Pike and Fourth drew a crowd—and its sympathies ran unexpectedly toward the Chinese prisoner.Seattle, WA
- Feb 20, 1895Rock-Throwing Crowd, One-Dollar Fine: Ah Sam’s Day in CourtA Chinese man targeted by a Pike Street crowd was convicted of assaulting a boy in that crowd, but the judge reduced the penalty to $1 and costs after hearing the provocation.Pike Street, Seattle, WA