By the middle of the 19th century, the United
States was experiencing a large influx of Chinese immigrants. China's
economy had taken a downturn and many of that nation's nationals had
come to the United States in search of greater job opportunities and
higher wages. The bulk of the Chinese
immigrants worked on the transcontinental
railroad and in the
gold fields of California. Unfortunately, the boon in railroad construction was of limited duration and opportunities in
gold prospecting soon declined, leaving many of the Chinese
unemployed. In their attempt to secure jobs in a nation in the midst of a
broad economic
depression, they began to compete with white, Anglo-American, workers for the few remaining job opportunities and soon were subjected to
racism and violence.
Once the railroads were complete, the Union Pacific Railroad needed
coal to fuel its
locomotives and
steam engines; to fulfill this need it established the Union Pacific
Coal Company (UPCC). In the mid-1800s mining was a labor-intensive and
very dangerous occupation, but in order to supply the vast quantities of
coal required while simultaneously reducing production costs, in 1875
the UPCC reduced the pay from five cents to four cents per bushel and
increased the number of hours worked by 25% in its Rock Springs, Wyo.,
mine. The workers responded with a protest
strike, which the UPCC broke by bringing in Chinese labor as strikebreakers.
Over the next decade jobs became scarce and the
resentment about reduced pay and increased work hours began to build.
The UPCC continued to import Chinese workers, however, and by 1885 they
represented 65% of the population in Rock Springs. During that time the
white miners tried on several occasions to convince the Chinese to join
them in demanding better wages and working hours and striking if the
demands were not met. On each occasion the Chinese refused, thus making
them the focus of the white miners' resentment. Around 1883 the white
workers in Rock Springs organized in an effort to get the Chinese
expelled from the area.
On Sept. 2, 1885, the growing resentment erupted
into violence. According to accounts given by the surviving Chinese
workers in a memorial that they presented to the Chinese consul in New
York City in 1885, the white miners were especially resentful of the
Chinese working at Pit Number Six, which was considered a desirable
assignment. On September 2 approximately ten armed white workers entered
Pit Number Six demanding that the Chinese not be allowed to work there.
When they tried to reason with the whites, the Chinese were attacked
and three of their number were injured. On hearing of the violence, the
foreman closed down the pit. It is believed that the miners who carried
out the attack belonged to the
Knights of Labor, a
union for workers of all trades that strongly backed labor laws that
protected American workers against competition from foreigners. One
such law was the Chinese
Exclusion Act of 1882, which prohibited immigration from China for
ten years. (After a decade, the policy was extended indefinitely, and in
1902 it became permanent. Only in 1943, when China became a key U.S.
ally against Japan, was the act finally repealed.)
After Pit Number Six was closed down, the white
miners regrouped in the "Whiteman's Town" area of Rock Springs. By 2
P.M. they had entered the city's Chinatown, and by 9 P.M. they had
driven the Chinese out of Rock Springs and had looted and destroyed
their homes. Twenty-eight Chinese were killed in the violence, many were
wounded, and hundreds fled into the countryside.
The day after the incident, Francis E. Warren, the
territorial governor of Wyoming, called on the federal government to
help restore order in Rock Springs. In response Pres.
Grover Cleveland deployed federal troops to the mining town, and one
week after the massacre, the troops escorted the Chinese back to their
homes. Although 16 men were tried for crimes against the Chinese all of
them were acquitted. The UPCC continued to employ immigrants at the
Rocks Springs mine, but as pressure from the white community increased,
the company started to phase out the use of Chinese workers. The lack of
jobs and growing local resentment--evidenced in the headlines in the
town's newspaper stating "The Chinese Must Go"--eventually induced most
of the Chinese to leave Rock Springs.
The Rock Springs massacre was not the only
anti-Chinese incident to occur at the time. Similar acts of violence
against this ethnic minority took place in Tacoma, Wash., and Los
Angeles, Calif. Although neither was as fatal or as destructive as the
Rock Springs massacre, taken together, these incidents help to
illustrate the theme of ethnic
prejudice that runs through much of American history.
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