Dependency and Opportunity: Socioeconomic Relations between Chinese and Non-Chinese in New York City, 1970-1943

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

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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:
Asian Americans
Ethnic Relations
Immigration
Merchants
New York City, New York
Work Environment
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Summary:This article explores the work environment as a site for interactions between Chinese & non-Chinese in New York City between 1870 & 1943. A gendered & racially stratified paid labor force, shaped by federal immigration restriction laws, migration & settlement patterns to & within New York City, state occupational restrictions, & the development of a skilled white male urban working class, created the economic conditions within which the Chinese & 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 & the skills & services offered by men of European descent. In turn, white men in trades & small businesses depended upon Chinese customers & fellow merchants. Chinese/white relations during this period provide a glimpse into how both groups created livelihoods & in the process built ethnic & cross-cultural urban communities. [Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Inc., copyright 2007.]
ISSN:0096-1442
DOI:10.1177/0096144206294743