Chin Gee-Hee

The great migration of Asians to other parts of the world created, among other things, a vast Chinese diaspora.  Communities of Chinese workers and business people grew in Southeast Asia, the Philippines, Latin America, and North America.  The west coast of the United States attracted thousands immigrants, most of whom went on to work in the mines and on the railroads of the interior.  Cities such as San Francisco and Seattle developed large "Chinatowns," districts in which immigrants congregated, met with fellow Chinese, and patronized businesses organized to serve their needs.  Some of these businesses became quite successful and their owners influential members of their larger communities.  One such leader was Chin Gee Hee, about whom you read in Chapter 27 of McKay.  Working his way up from life as a laborer, Chin manages to turn his business success into political influence on behalf of his fellow Chinese in America.  He also uses his wealth to improve conditions in his home province in China.  Use the links below to learn more about Chin Gee Hee and his times.

1. Chin came from the Pearl River region of Taishan in southern China, not far from the important port city of Guangzhou (Canton).  Take a look at this map of Taishan.  For more geographical information on Chin's home region go to Pearl River Delta and Geographical and Historical Notes on the Wuyi Region.
2. To learn more about Chin's adoptive home in Seattle read this brief history of the city's Chinatown-International District.
3. Go to Chinese Immigration to the United States and The History of Chinese Immigration and read more about the development of Chinese immigrant communities in the U.S.
4. You already read about the pressures Chinese immigrants felt during the depression years of the 1880s.  These pressures took a variety of forms, both unofficial and official.  Read about Anti-Chinese activism during the 1880s.  In what became the state of Washington, this activism culminated with the Chinese expulsion from Tacoma, Washington, one of the events in which Chin Hee Gee played a role.
5. Anti-Chinese sentiment grew so powerful that the U.S. Congress passed legislation to force Chinese out of the country.  Consider the background of this legislation, and then read the text of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act.