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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1861 | 1 |
| 1872 | 1 |
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| 1877 | 7 |
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| 1880 | 3 |
| 1883 | 3 |
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| 1885 | 23 |
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138 stories matching chinaman
- Thrown Into a Saw at Colman's Mill — and the Law Looked the Other Way
When Peter Feeney attacked a Chinese coworker in a Seattle sawmill, the man's foot was mangled beyond repair. The justice of the peace declined to hold Feeney, the prosecutor dismissed the case, and the town's paper argued the injury was just an accident.
- The Brutal Assault on a Chinese Laborer in Dayton
A local editor denounces the cowardly beating of a Chinese worker by his employer, highlighting the stark racial injustice and lack of protection for Asian laborers in 1892 Washington.
- The Legal Quandary of Chinese Exclusion
A local judge grapples with the harsh realities and administrative conflicts of the 1892 Chinese Exclusion Act.
- Violence and Racial Tension in the Labor Camp
A physical altercation between a white cowboy and a Chinese cook over breakfast coffee results in a stabbing and a manhunt.
- The 'Smart' Grift: A Frontier Romance Scammer
A Chinese laborer attempts to use the legal system to recover money lost to a romantic swindler who promised marriage but disappeared with his cash.
- The Prosecutor Who Prosecuted Himself: How Aberdeen’s DA Ignored a White Mob’s Attack on Chinese Residents
When a mob drove Aberdeen’s Chinese community out of town and stole $550, the county’s prosecuting attorney charged the victims with libel instead of the perpetrators—sparking a furious editorial defense of civil rights in 1890.
- The Unraveling of Lee Wa Poo
A Chinese man’s descent into mental distress in Renton ends in his arrest and public pathologization.
- The Wedding of Sally Feet
A rare glimpse into the life of an Indigenous bride and her Chinese groom in the 1880s, amidst the backdrop of strict exclusion laws.
- The Mute Refugee of Tacoma
A Chinese man, caught in the crosshairs of local unrest, seeks refuge and dignity by claiming a past as a decorated American soldier.
- The Shadow Over Squak Valley
In the autumn of 1885, a series of indictments revealed a brutal campaign of violence against Chinese laborers in the Snoqualmie Valley.
- 1885 Editorial Urges Chinese Exclusion in Washington Territory
A committee of Seattle citizens formalizes their campaign to purge the city of Chinese laborers, framing their economic anxiety as a struggle for the 'Caucasian race.'
- Accusations of Trafficking in the Victoria Chinese Mission
Prominent Chinese merchants in Seattle level explosive allegations against the superintendent of a Chinese mission in Victoria, accusing him of extortion and human trafficking.
- Brutal Attack on Asian Train Passenger
Two railroad employees threw a Chinese passenger from a moving train, causing severe injuries.
- A Wedding Across the Color Line in Walla Walla
A local preacher marries a white girl and her Chinese partner after her mother grants formal consent.
- The Palace of Ink and Pine
A satirical look at a new, supposedly 'palatial' three-story printing office in Seattle, which turns out to be just one story above a Chinese wash-house.
- The Burglar Who Stole From Himself
A clever thief in Seattle pulls off a double deception: stealing from a store and then framing a Chinese employee for the crime.
- The 'A Co.' Misunderstanding
A linguistic confusion at a Seattle restaurant leads to a partnership change and a new sign.
- The Last Man Left Behind
A lonely figure in Tacoma navigates a hostile city after a systemic campaign of expulsion drove his neighbors into exile.
- Cowboy Terry Caught Running Chinese Immigrants Across the Sumas Line
A notorious border outlaw, already linked to a fatal shootout, is arrested by customs inspectors after a stolen railway speeder is stopped south of Sumas.
- The Fight for Cheap Labor in the Pacific Northwest
In 1887, prominent Seattle and Tacoma business leaders sat down to argue over the 'necessity' of the Chinese exclusion movement and the future of regional trade.
- A Chinese Student's 1929 Speech Named the Racism Washington Tried to Forget
At the University of Washington's Cosmopolitan Club, Wesley Kai Hwa Kwang catalogued a century of anti-Chinese violence — including the 1885 killings in Squak Valley and the burning of Tacoma's Chinatown — and asked a white audience to account for it.
- The Clam-Seller and the Street-Car: A Seattle Reckoning
When a man was killed by a train on a Seattle street, a bystander's callous comment sparked a confrontation that exposed the deep-seated tensions of the city's growing industrial landscape.
- The Revenue Cutter Steward’s Opium Cache
A longtime employee of the U.S. revenue cutter 'Oliver Wolcott' is arrested for smuggling opium from British Columbia, exposing a decade-long secret life.
- Expulsion and Harassment on the Waterfront
A Chinese man arrives in Seattle only to be threatened by a local anti-Chinese group, highlighting the climate of exclusion in 1885.
- The Waterfront Conflict: Escalating Violence on Yesler's Wharf
Tensions boil over as displaced workers and local youth clash in a series of violent altercations on the Seattle waterfront.
Also about this, in other words
- The Guilland House Advertises 'No Chinamen'
A local hotel uses xenophobic hiring practices as a primary marketing hook to attract guests.
- An Invitation to a Celestial Feast
An 1877 dispatch offers a rare, albeit patronizing, glimpse into the intricate social etiquette and lavish dining culture of Seattle’s Chinese mercantile class.
- An Interracial Marriage in 1887 Seattle
A white woman’s decision to marry a Chinese man and adapt to his life in a hostile era.
- A Vicious Letter to the Editor from 1885
A correspondent expresses the era's height of anti-Chinese xenophobia.
- The Senator Who Wanted to Cut Off Every Chinese Man's Queue — and Jail Him
After Chinese cooks boycotted his Tacoma spice business, a state senator proposed fining and jailing any Chinese man who wore a queue, with state agents sent out to shear them.
- The Day the Chinamen Came Back
After a violent expulsion and rumors of hanging in Tekoa, Chinese laborers return under federal guard to resume work, turning a local tragedy into a grim advertisement for the town.
- A Vicious Assault on the Waterfront
A Chinese resident attempts to seek justice in court after being beaten by a mob of schoolboys, but is met with the cold indifference of the law.
- A Merchant's Defiance in Olympia
A Chinese merchant addresses accusations of smuggling, asserting his identity as a successful, law-abiding American pioneer.