Dependency and Opportunity: Socioeconomic Relations between Chinese and Non-Chinese in New York City, 1870-1943

This article explores the work environment as a site for interactions between Chinese and non-Chinese in New York City between 1870 and 1943. A gendered and racially stratified paid labor force, shaped by federal immigration restriction laws, migration and settlement patterns to and within New York...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of urban history 2007-01, Vol.33 (2), p.254-276
Main Author: Yee, Shirley J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cities
Cross-cultural analysis
Ethnicity
Gender
History
Interethnic relations
New York
Occupations
Race
U.S.A
Urban areas
Urban history
Urban studies
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Summary:This article explores the work environment as a site for interactions between Chinese and non-Chinese in New York City between 1870 and 1943. A gendered and racially stratified paid labor force, shaped by federal immigration restriction laws, migration and settlement patterns to and within New York City, state occupational restrictions, and the development of a skilled white male urban working class, created the economic conditions within which the Chinese and non-Chinese struggled to survive during the exclusion period (1882-1943). Mutually dependent relationships often developed out of these phenomena. The survival of Chinese communities depended upon whites as well as Chinese and the skills and services offered by men of European descent. In turn, white men in trades and small businesses depended upon Chinese customers and fellow merchants. Chinese/white relations during this period provide a glimpse into how both groups created livelihoods and in the process built ethnic and cross-cultural urban communities.
ISSN:0096-1442
1552-6771
DOI:10.1177/0096144206294743