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A Chinese Immigrant Remembers His Arrival in the United States
Huie Kin left his village in Guangdong Province and emigrated to the U.S. at the age of 14; in his 20s he entered a seminary and went on to become the first Chinese Christian minister in New York City. He wrote his memoirs in 1932, from which this [...]
The United States Bars Chinese Immigrants
The Chinese Exclusion Act, passed on May 6, 1882, was the first major restriction placed on immigration in the U.S., and the only immigration law that explicitly barred a specific group from entering the country. The Exclusion Act forbade Chinese [...]
A Country within a Country: Understanding San Francisco's Chinatown
In this activity, students use a range of primary and secondary sources about San Francisco's Chinatown (1880s-1920) to explore what the community meant to residents and to outsiders.
A Country Within a Country Activity worksheet
This worksheet helps students analyze evidence from the Country Within a Country activity.
Foreign Miner's License
With the discovery of gold in California in 1848, men seeking to make their fortunes streamed into the area from all over the world. In 1850, the California legislature passed a Foreign Miners' Tax that required miners who were not U.S. citizens to [...]
Let's Make an Immigration Deal cards
These cards are used in the game "Let's Make an Immigration Deal."
Background Essay on San Francisco's Chinatown (short version, with text supports)
This essay describes the origins of San Francisco's Chinatown, as well as some of its major economic, political, and social features. The essay also describes the challenges San Francisco's Chinese community faced from the city's white politicians [...]
Diners Describe the first Chinese Restaurants in America (with text supports)
The first Chinese restaurants in America sprang up in 1850s California and catered to Cantonese miners and railroad laborers. Known as "chow chows" (Chinese slang for anything edible), they were identified by yellow triangle signs. By the 1880s San [...]
The Theater Draws Immigrants and Tourists to Chinatown (with text supports)
During the 1870s and 1880s, San Francisco's Chinatown included as many as four theater companies that regularly performed Chinese operas and other entertainment. Tickets to evening performances usually cost 20-25 cents for Chinese (50 cents for [...]
Anti-Chinese Prejudice and the "Six Companies" (with text supports)
The Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association of San Francisco (commonly known as "the Six Companies") was an organization of regional- and family-based self-help societies in Chinatown. They helped to get new immigrants housing, food, and jobs. [...]