1885 Chinese expulsion from Eureka explained

1885 Chinese expulsion from Eureka
Location:Eureka, California
Date:February 7, 1885
Type:ethnic cleansing
Victims:Eureka Chinese
Perpetrators:Eureka city government
Motive:Sinophobia, racial discrimination

1885 Chinese expulsion from Eureka was an ethnic cleansing event that took place in Eureka, California on February 7, 1885.[1]

Background

Anti-Chinese sentiment in the United States had been rising since mid-19th century. Numerous anti-Chinese riots broke out in the west, including California. The San Francisco riot of 1877 led to the formation of the Workingmen's Party of California that same year; its slogan "The Chinese must go!" served to further incite resentment toward Chinese immigrants. The growing sinophobia was reflected in 1882 when the United States Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, ceasing Chinese immigration.[2]

In the Humboldt Bay area, the logging industry drew Chinese laborers, who formed a Chinatown in Eureka around Fourth and E streets. By 1880 the Chinese population in Eureka was reported to be 96.[3]

Expulsion

On the evening of February 6, 1885, around 6 pm, Eureka City Councilman David Kendall was caught in the crossfire of two rival Chinese gangs and killed. Two hundred feet from Chinatown was Centennial Hall (built a decade before to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence), where a crowd of over 600 whites gathered and decided to evict the Chinese.[4]

Next day, February 7, city resolutions were passed stipulating that "all Chinamen be expelled from the city and that none be allowed to return."[5]

A Committee of Fifteen organized the systemic deportation of virtually all 480 Chinese residents aboard two steamships to San Francisco; only a few Chinese managed to stay within the county.[6]

Amazingly, no fatalities occurred during the expulsion, but Chinatown was demolished, with nothing left behind.[3] To this day, there are few Asians in Humboldt County.[7]

Aftermath

This "peaceful" method of expelling Chinese was touted as The Eureka Method (or Eureka Plan), and served as a model for Chinese expulsions in other California cities, including Crescent City (1885), Arcata (1886), Ferndale (1906), as well as other towns along the west coast such as Tacoma, Washington (1885).[5] [3]

In 1886 the San Francisco Chinese Six Companies sued the city of Eureka in Wing Hing vs. Eureka, demanding reparations and financial compensation as a consequence of the expulsion, but the case was dropped since the Chinese could not own land, they had lost no property.[6] [4] [8]

In 1890, the Humboldt County business directory boasted it is "The Only County in the State Containing No Chinamen".[7] [9] [10]

Exclusion of Chinese and other Asians in Eureka continued well into the 20th century. In 1941, the Eureka City Council revised its charter:[11]

This section was not removed from Eureka's charter until 1959.[12]

Notes and References

  1. Carranco. Lynwood. 1961. Chinese Expulsion from Humboldt County.. Pacific Historical Review. 30. 4. 329–340. JSTOR. 10.2307/3636420. 3636420.
  2. Web site: An act to execute certain treaty stipulations relating to the Chinese. May 6, 1882. General Records of the United States Government. National Archive.
  3. Web site: Island Of Strangers. Yang. Yang. April 20, 2011. The Boontling Greeley Sheet. Anderson Valley Advertiser.
  4. Web site: LaBelle. Matthew. The Expulsion of the Chinese from Humboldt County .
  5. Book: Driven out: the forgotten war against Chinese Americans. Pfaelzer. Jean. 400. University of California Press. August 2008. 9780520256941.
  6. Web site: Immigration, Expulsion, Homecoming The Legacy of the Chinese Expulsion in Humboldt County . Clarke Historical Museum.
  7. Web site: Easthouse, K.. February 27, 2003. The Chinese Expulsion.
  8. Web site: I Saw My Countrymen Marched Out of Tacoma. Lanzendorfer. Joy. February 2019. Longreads.
  9. Web site: ODD OLD NEWS: THE 1906 CHINESE EXPULSION. Kemp. Kym. October 23, 2020.
  10. Web site: History and Business Directory of Humboldt County Descriptive of the Natural Resources, Delightful Climate, Picturesque Scenery, Beautiful Homes. The Only County in the State Containing No Chinamen. Hamm. Lillie E.. November 1890. Downtown Brown Books.
  11. Oliner. Samual P.. Krause. Jerrald D.. 2001. RACIAL AND ETHNIC ATTITUDES IN RURAL AMERICA: Focus on Humboldt County, California.. Humboldt Journal of Social Relations. 26. 1/2. 11–55. 23263404.
  12. Book: Perry. Ronald J.. May 2005. Wipe Out The Plague Spots: The Expulsion of the Chinese From Humboldt County. Humboldt State University.