Seattle's Public Reckoning with Anti-Chinese Sentiment
Mayor Yesler convenes a massive meeting at Frye's Opera House to address the growing agitation against Chinese residents in the territory.
The story, cleaned up
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At least one thousand persons responded to the call published by Mayor Yesler to meet for the purpose of discussing the Chinese question. Finding Yesler's Hall too small, Frye's Opera House was selected as the meeting place. Judge Orange Jacobs, the first speaker, argued that the treaty stipulations with China had resulted in a 'curse' on the Pacific Coast. He stated, 'It has always been a proud boast that American laborers are the best housed in the world. Chinamen can live in a house only large enough for one family of whites; they require no furniture, no carpets, buy no books, and take no papers.' While condemning the violence at Squak (the recent Squak Valley massacre), Jacobs urged the crowd to remain law-abiding, warning that rioting would only delay Washington’s statehood. Other speakers, including J.T. Ronald and Mayor Yesler, reinforced the sentiment that while Chinese labor was viewed as a threat to the white working class, the community must prevent lawlessness, rioting, and the destruction of property to maintain social order and protect their reputation.
“Our first duty, after our duty to God, is to protect the rights and foster the interests of the Caucasian race.”
This meeting captures a pivotal, dark moment in Seattle's history, reflecting the intense nativist fervor of the 1880s that eventually led to the 1886 expulsion of the Chinese population. The rhetoric about 'Caucasian rights' and labor competition echoes later waves of exclusionary politics in the region's development.
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