Chinese Massacre of 1871
Encyclopedia
The Chinese massacre of 1871 was a racially motivated riot on October 24, 1871, when a mob of over 500 white men entered Los Angeles
' Chinatown to attack, rob and brutally murder Chinese
residents of the city. The riots took place on Calle de los Negros (Street of the Negroes), also referred to as "Nigger Alley", which later became part of Los Angeles Street
.
Practically every Chinese-occupied building on the block was ransacked and almost every resident was attacked or robbed. The county coroner confirmed 18 Chinese deaths at the hands of the mob, although some estimates ranged as high as 84.
Los Angeles merchant and memoirist Harris Newmark recalled that Calle de los Negros was “as tough a neighborhood, in fact, as could be found anywhere.” Los Angeles historian Morrow Mayo described it as
Calle de los Negros was incorporated into Los Angeles Street in 1877. The adobe apartment block where the Chinese massacre occurred was torn down in the late 1880s. Today, the location is part of El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument.
climaxed in the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act
of 1882. These root economic causes were the unstable economy after the American Civil War
, which led to high unemployment in California and other Western American states.
The event was well-reported on the East Coast as newspapers there labeled Los Angeles a "blood stained Eden" after the riots.
recounts the massacre in his The Brick People (1988).
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
' Chinatown to attack, rob and brutally murder Chinese
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
residents of the city. The riots took place on Calle de los Negros (Street of the Negroes), also referred to as "Nigger Alley", which later became part of Los Angeles Street
Los Angeles Street
Los Angeles Street is a historic avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, California.The main portion of the street begins at 23rd Street, south of Interstate 10, through the Fashion District, and on through Little Tokyo, where it passes between LAPD Parker Center and Los Angeles City Hall. Los Angeles...
.
Riot and massacre
The riot and massacre were allegedly triggered by the killing of Robert Thompson, a local rancher, who was caught in the cross-fire during a gun battle between two Chinese factions. This fight was part of a longstanding feud over the abduction of a Chinese woman named Yut Ho.The dead Chinese in Los Angeles were hanging at three places near the heart of the downtown business section of the city; from the wooden awning over the sidewalk in front of a carriage shop; from the sides of two “prairie schooners” parked on the street around the corner from the carriage shop; and from the cross-beam of a wide gate leading into a lumberyard a few blocks away from the other two locations. One of the victims hung without his trousers and minus a finger on his left hand.
Practically every Chinese-occupied building on the block was ransacked and almost every resident was attacked or robbed. The county coroner confirmed 18 Chinese deaths at the hands of the mob, although some estimates ranged as high as 84.
Location
Calle de los Negros was situated immediately northeast of Los Angeles’s principal business district, running 500 feet (152.4 m) from the intersection of Arcadia Street to the plaza. The unpaved street took its name from the dark-complexioned Californios (pre-annexation, Spanish-speaking mixed-race Californians) who had originally lived there. Once home to the town’s most prominent families, the neighborhood had deteriorated into a slum by the time Los Angeles’s first Chinatown was established there in the 1860s.Los Angeles merchant and memoirist Harris Newmark recalled that Calle de los Negros was “as tough a neighborhood, in fact, as could be found anywhere.” Los Angeles historian Morrow Mayo described it as
a dreadful thoroughfare, forty feet wide, running one whole block, filled entirely with saloons, gambling-houses, dance-halls, and cribs. It was crowded night and day with people of many races, male and female, all rushing and crowding along from one joint to another, from bar to bar, from table to table. There was a band in every joint, with harps, guitars, and other stringed instruments predominating.
Calle de los Negros was incorporated into Los Angeles Street in 1877. The adobe apartment block where the Chinese massacre occurred was torn down in the late 1880s. Today, the location is part of El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument.
Causes
The underlying causes are sometimes said to be economic. A growing movement of anti-Chinese discrimination in CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
climaxed in the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act
Chinese Exclusion Act (United States)
The Chinese Exclusion Act was a United States federal law signed by Chester A. Arthur on May 8, 1882, following revisions made in 1880 to the Burlingame Treaty of 1868. Those revisions allowed the U.S. to suspend immigration, and Congress subsequently acted quickly to implement the suspension of...
of 1882. These root economic causes were the unstable economy after the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, which led to high unemployment in California and other Western American states.
Aftermath
Only ten rioters were ever brought to trial. Eight were convicted, but their convictions were overturned on a legal technicality. The eight convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to imprisonment in San QuentinPaul R Spitzzeri, "Judge Lynch in session: Popular justice in Los Angeles, 1850-1875" Historical society of Souther California Quarterly 87, No. 2 (Summer 2005), 108 were:- Alvarado, Esteban
- Austin, Charles
- Botello, Refugio
- Crenshaw, L. P.
- Johnson, A. R.
- Martinez, Jesus
- McDonald, Patrick M.
- Mendel, Louis
The event was well-reported on the East Coast as newspapers there labeled Los Angeles a "blood stained Eden" after the riots.
Representation in Literature
Alejandro MoralesAlejandro Morales
Alejandro Morales is currently professor of at the University of California, Irvine, and has published seven novels and three novellas. Morales received the 2007 Luis Leal Award for Distinction in Chicano/Latino Literature...
recounts the massacre in his The Brick People (1988).
See also
- Chinatown, Los Angeles, California
- Chinese AmericanChinese AmericanChinese Americans represent Americans of Chinese descent. Chinese Americans constitute one group of overseas Chinese and also a subgroup of East Asian Americans, which is further a subgroup of Asian Americans...
- Yellow perilYellow PerilYellow Peril was a colour metaphor for race that originated in the late nineteenth century with immigration of Chinese laborers to various Western countries, notably the United States, and later associated with the Japanese during the mid 20th century, due to Japanese military expansion.The term...
- SinophobiaSinophobiaSinophobia or anti-Chinese sentiment is the fear of or dislike of China, its people, overseas Chinese, or Chinese Culture...
- CoolieCoolieHistorically, a coolie was a manual labourer or slave from Asia, particularly China, India, and the Phillipines during the 19th century and early 20th century...
- Sleepy Lagoon MurderSleepy Lagoon murderSleepy Lagoon murder was the name that newspapers and radio commentators used to describe the alleged murder of Jose Diaz, whose body was found on the Williams Ranch near a lagoon in southeast Los Angeles, California, on August 2, 1942...
- PogromPogromA pogrom is a form of violent riot, a mob attack directed against a minority group, and characterized by killings and destruction of their homes and properties, businesses, and religious centres...
- Asiatic Exclusion LeagueAsiatic Exclusion LeagueThe Asiatic Exclusion League, often abbreviated AEL, was a racist organization formed in the early twentieth century in the United States and Canada that aimed to prevent immigration of people of East Asian origin.-United States:...
- Chinese American MuseumChinese American MuseumThe Chinese American Museum is a museum located in Downtown Los Angeles as a part of the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Monument. It is dedicated to the history and experience of Chinese Americans in the state of California, first such museum in Southern California...
External links
- LA Weekly Investigation of the Massacre'
- Lesson plan and readings for Chinese Massacre of 1871
- Newmark, Harris First Person Narrative of Massacre Library of Congress
- Chinese American Museum - Statement of Remembrance
- Heritage Parkscape
- PBS History of the West
- Library of Congress - The Chinese in California 1850-1925
- USC Los Angeles History Project -- Chinese Massacre of 1871
- Lou, Raymond. The Chinese American Community in Los Angeles: A Case of Resistance, Organization, and Participation. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of California, Irvine, 1982.
- East West Discovery