Pacific Coast race riots of 1907

The Pacific Coast race riots were a series of riots that took place within the United States, as well as Vancouver, Canada. The riots were the result of anti-Asian tension, which resulted in violence against the increasing Asian population during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The riots took place in San Francisco, California; Bellingham, Washington; and Vancouver, Canada. Each city and anti-Asian activist group held its own unique reasoning for their specific riot.

History

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the United States was experiencing a wave of Asian immigration. As the Asian immigrants continued flooding into the United State, a growing number of citizens became concerned with the mounting numbers of Asian immigrants. United States citizens, and Canadian citizens, uneasy about the Asian immigrant’s ability to fill potentially white jobs within the United States. With the possibility of cheap labor, several employers were firing Caucasian workers, and replacing them with immigrants. “By [the] 1880 more than 100,000 Chinese were employed in a wide array of occupations, ranging from work on the railroads, in agriculture, and in mining, to work as domestics, in restaurants, and in laundries”.^[1] Shortly after the Chinese immigration wave, Japanese citizens followed suit and migrated to the United States. By the late 1880s Japanese immigrant’s numbers were equivalent the number of Chinese immigrants ^[1]

As the 19th century came to a close, immigration continued to increase along with Nativism, the idea of preserving the current American social values.^[2] Nativist viewed immigrants, that were not Caucasian or from select regions of Europe “un-American,” and therefore unable to assimilate into society.^[3] If citizens were seen as unfit for society, they were considered a threat to the preservation of American values.^[3] Nativist or not, many Canadian and American citizens used violent actions to force Asian immigrant out of jobs and certain cities “in the spring, summer and fall of 1907”(3), resulting in the race riots of 1907.

Results of riots

Three main riots occurred during the 1907 Pacific Coast race riots. These riots took place in San Francisco, California; Bellingham, Washington; and Vancouver, Canada.

The San Francisco riot was led by anti-Japanese activist, rebelling with violence in order to receive segregated schools for Caucasian and Japanese students. (Lee, 551) Along with the Gentlemen’s agreement the San Francisco riot resulted in segregated schools for Caucasian and Japanese students.^[4]

The Bellingham riot took place on September 5, 1907. As Asian immigrants migrated within the Bellingham; employers saw an opportunity to employee Asian immigrants at a cheaper wages than Caucasian workers. This created tension and hostility between Caucasian lumber workers and South Asian immigrants (Hindus) as immigrants continued to take Caucasian jobs.^[5]

Both the San Francisco riot and the Bellingham riot resulted in further restrictions on the Gentlemen’s Agreement between the United States and Japan. “The Japanese government agreed to not issue passports for entry into the United States to any skilled or unskilled labor”, if they had not previously been to the United States.^[6] The Vancouver riot took place two days after the Bellingham riot on September 7 and 8. This riot occurred in response to anti- Asian activist becoming concerned with the growing Asian (Chinese, Japanese, and South Asian) population, during the summer of 1907 (Lee, 551). The Vancouver race riots resulted in restrictive legislation, “In 1907–1908, 2,623 Indians [or South Asians] entered Canada. In 1908–1909, only six [South Asian] immigrants entered” Canada.^[7] Overall, all three of the riots resulted in more attention focused on Asian immigration policies within the United States and Canada.

References