Amanda Frost

But then, as so often we see in this nation, there was an economic downturn and they were scapegoated and blamed for the lack of jobs and the poor economy.

This country was coming out of the Civil War, the end of slavery. And the white workers were told the Chinese are the new slaves and they will undermine your work because they will take jobs at lower pay. They're willing to work in slave-like conditions. And they use that as an excuse for violence and their attempt to drive out Chinese immigrants from the United States.

This country was coming out of the Civil War, the end of slavery. And the white workers were told the Chinese are the new slaves and they will undermine your work because they will take jobs at lower pay. They're willing to work in slave-like conditions. And they use that as an excuse for violence and their attempt to drive out Chinese immigrants from the United States.

This country was coming out of the Civil War, the end of slavery. And the white workers were told the Chinese are the new slaves and they will undermine your work because they will take jobs at lower pay. They're willing to work in slave-like conditions. And they use that as an excuse for violence and their attempt to drive out Chinese immigrants from the United States.

There was a sense, too, that the Chinese couldn't assimilate and the Chinese immigrants weren't willing to assimilate.

There was a sense, too, that the Chinese couldn't assimilate and the Chinese immigrants weren't willing to assimilate.

There was a sense, too, that the Chinese couldn't assimilate and the Chinese immigrants weren't willing to assimilate.

The Chinese population was forced by laws as well as social conventions to live in isolated ways, to live in Chinatowns, in ethnic enclaves. The children were barred from attending schools. Anti-miscegenation laws barred marriage. The federal law barred Chinese immigrants from becoming citizens.

The Chinese population was forced by laws as well as social conventions to live in isolated ways, to live in Chinatowns, in ethnic enclaves. The children were barred from attending schools. Anti-miscegenation laws barred marriage. The federal law barred Chinese immigrants from becoming citizens.

The Chinese population was forced by laws as well as social conventions to live in isolated ways, to live in Chinatowns, in ethnic enclaves. The children were barred from attending schools. Anti-miscegenation laws barred marriage. The federal law barred Chinese immigrants from becoming citizens.

So there was this sense that the Chinese wouldn't assimilate, but of course it was the laws and policies and practices of the nation that made it so difficult for them to assimilate. But that also made it easy to view them as others, as people who are not like us.

So there was this sense that the Chinese wouldn't assimilate, but of course it was the laws and policies and practices of the nation that made it so difficult for them to assimilate. But that also made it easy to view them as others, as people who are not like us.

So there was this sense that the Chinese wouldn't assimilate, but of course it was the laws and policies and practices of the nation that made it so difficult for them to assimilate. But that also made it easy to view them as others, as people who are not like us.

But he did. So he reported that he went back to China with his parents around 1877 when he was around eight years old. He came back, he said, at age 11 with an uncle. And he began working as first like a dishwasher and then a cook, first in the mining communities in the Sierra Nevada mountains and then later in Chinatown. It must have been a very rough life for him.

But he did. So he reported that he went back to China with his parents around 1877 when he was around eight years old. He came back, he said, at age 11 with an uncle. And he began working as first like a dishwasher and then a cook, first in the mining communities in the Sierra Nevada mountains and then later in Chinatown. It must have been a very rough life for him.

But he did. So he reported that he went back to China with his parents around 1877 when he was around eight years old. He came back, he said, at age 11 with an uncle. And he began working as first like a dishwasher and then a cook, first in the mining communities in the Sierra Nevada mountains and then later in Chinatown. It must have been a very rough life for him.

He was clearly not being educated at that point, if he ever got much education. And also, it must have been very lonely. He had come from a small village, Ong Sing village, where he'd been living with a younger brother and his parents. And now he was back in the United States, a country he did know well, having grown up his first eight years in the United States.

He was clearly not being educated at that point, if he ever got much education. And also, it must have been very lonely. He had come from a small village, Ong Sing village, where he'd been living with a younger brother and his parents. And now he was back in the United States, a country he did know well, having grown up his first eight years in the United States.

He was clearly not being educated at that point, if he ever got much education. And also, it must have been very lonely. He had come from a small village, Ong Sing village, where he'd been living with a younger brother and his parents. And now he was back in the United States, a country he did know well, having grown up his first eight years in the United States.

But he hadn't been for several years, and he was in a strange new community working. It must have been a lonely and isolating time for him there, too. We also know from a picture where he's wearing sort of a smock and his hair is standing up on end. And you realize that he probably didn't have a lot of opportunities to shower.