the h**tory of new york's chinatown
written by sarah waxma
new york city’s chinatown,the largest chinatown in the united states—and the site of the largest concentration of chinese in the western hem**phere—** located on the lower east side of manhattan.its two square miles are loosely bounded by kenmore and delancey streets on the north,east and worth streets on the south,allen street on the east,and broadway on the west.with a population estimated between 70,000 and 150,000,chinatown ** the f**ored destination point for chinese immigrants,though in recent years the nei**orhood has also become home to dominicans,puerto ricans,burmese,vietnamese,and filipinos among others.
chinatown ** born
chinese traders and sailors began trickling into the united states in the mid eigh**th century;while th** population was largely transient,small numbers stayed in new york and married.beginning in the mid nine**th century,chinese arrived in significant numbers,lured to the pacific coast of the united states by the stories of“gold mountain”—california—during the gold rush of the 1840s and 1850s and brought by labor brokers to build the central pacific railroad.most arrived expecting to spend a few years wo**ng,thus earning enough money to return to china,build a house and marry.
as the gold mines began yielding less and the railroad neared completion,the broad **ailability of cheap and willing chinese labor in such industries as cigar-rolling and textiles became a source of tension for white laborers,who thought that the chinese were coming to take their jobs and threaten their livelihoods.mob violence and rampant d**crimination in the west drove the chinese east into larger cities,where job opportunities were open and they could easily blend into the already diverse population.by 1880,the burgeoning encl**e in the five points slums on the south east side of new york was home to between 200 and 1,100 chinese.a few members of a group of chinese illegally smuggled into new jersey in the late 1870s to work in a hand laundry soon made the move to new york,spa**ng an explosion of chinese hand laundries.
living arrangements
from the start,chinese immigrants tended to clump together as a result of both racial d**crimination,which dictated safety in numbers,and self-segregation.unlike many ethnic ghettos of immigrants,chinatown was largely self-supporting,with an internal structure of governing associations and businesses which supplied jobs,economic aid,social service,and protection.rather than d**integrating as immigrants assimilated and moved out and up,chinatown continued to grow through the end of the nine**th century,providing contacts and living arrangements—usually 5-15 people in a two room apartment subdivided into segments—for the recent immigrants who continued to trickle in despite the enactment of the chinese exclusion act of 1882.
immigration and chinatown
the chinese exclusion act(1882-1943),to date the only non-wartime federal law which excluded a people based on nationality,was a reaction to r**ing anti-chinese sentiment.th** resentment was largely a result of the willingness of the chinese to work for far less money under far worse conditions than the white laborers and the unwillingness to"assimilate properly".the law forbids naturalization by any chinese already in the united states;bars the immigration of any chinese not given a special work permit deeming him merchant,student,or diplomat;and,most horribly,prohibits the immigration of the wives and children of chinese laborers living in the united states.the exclusion act grew and restrictive over the following decades,and was finally lifted during world war ii,only when such a rac**t law against a wartime ally became an untenable option.
“the bachelor’s society”
the already imbalanced male-female ratio in chinatown was radically worsened by the exclusion act and in 1900 there were only 40-150 women for the upwards of 7,000 chinese living in manhattan.th** altered and unnatural social landscape in chinatown led to its role as the“bachelor’s society"with rumors of opium dens,prostitution and sl**e girls deepening the white antagon**m toward the chinese.in keeping with chinese tradition—and in the face of sanctioned u.s.** and individual hostility—the chinese of chinatown formed their own associations and societies to protect their own interests.an underground economy allowed undocumented laborers to work illegally without le**ing the few blocks they called home.
an internal political structure compr**ed of the chinese consolidated benevolent association and various tongs,or fraternal organizations,managed the opening of businesses,made funeral arrangements,and mediated d**putes,among other responsibilities.the ccba,an umbrella organization which drafted its own constitution,imposed taxes on all new york chinese,and ruled chinatown throughout the early and mid twentieth century,represented the elite of chinatown;the tongs formed protective and social associations for the less wealthy.the on leong and hip sing tongs warred periodically through the early 1900s,waging bloody battles that left both tour**ts and residents afraid to walk the streets of chinatown.
growth in chinatown
when the exclusion act was finally lifted in 1943,china was given a small immigration quota,and the community continued to grow,expanding slowly throughout the‘40s and‘50s.the garment industry,the hand-laundry business,and restaurants continued to employ chinese internally,paying less than minimum wage under the table to thousands.despite the view of the chinese as members of a“model minority,”chinatown’s chinese came largely from the mainland,and were viewed as the“downtown chinese,"as opposed the **-educated“uptown chinese,”members of the chinese elite.
when the quota was ra**ed in 1968,chinese flooded into the country from the mainland,and chinatown’s population exploded,expanding into little italy,often buying buildings with cash and turning them into garment factories or office buildings.although many of the buildings in chinatown are tenements from the late nine**th and early twentieth centuries,the rents in chinatown are some of the highest in the city,competing with the upper west side and midtown.foreign investment from hong kong has poured capital into chinatown,and the little space there ** a precious commodity.
chinatown today
today’s chinatown ** a tightly-packed yet sprawling nei**orhood which continues to grow rapidly despite the satellite chinese communities flour**hing in queens.both a tour**t attraction and the home of the majority of chinese new yorkers,chinatown offers v**itor and resident alike hundreds of restaurants,booming fruit and f**h markets and shops of knickknacks and sweets on torturously winding and overcrowded streets.