1886 Anti-Chinese Convention Votes To Remove All Chinese From Idaho

 

Feb. 25, 1886, Anti-Chinese sentiment in the American West was as prominent of a characteristic, perhaps even more of one than prejudice against Native Americans.

From Denver to California to Wyoming and throughout the northwest with the China Town Massacre in Denver, Rock Springs Massacre, and others. The hatred was at all levels and forced the passage of the federal Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, much of this hate originated in competition for railroad and mining jobs but it grew because of cultural differences and perceived competition for the same jobs, this perception was hyped up by the Knights of Labor, an early labor union in Idaho.

In Idaho, Chinese immigrants made up 25-35 percent of the total population. Even then they had no power to even protect themselves, Chinese residents were not permitted to testify against whites in court and acts of violence committed against the Chinese were rarely investigated or punished. Perhaps the most extreme was the taxation, each person who was Chinese had to pay $5.00 a month to live in Idaho, approximately $160 in 2023 dollars, so an almost exorbitant amount.

On this day in 1886 representatives from across the state met in Boise to discuss what could be done to push the Chinese out, similar conventions were occurring in California and Nevada on the same day. In Idaho and California the language of resolutions was as prejudiced and bigoted as anything else ever written in the United States:

          Resolved: That we regard the Chinese among us as a mental, physical, moral, and financial evil.

          Resolved the Chinese must go

In other states, there was language stating that all methods must be based on the laws of the state and the federal government, but in Idaho, it was just resolved they must go. This was after the Federal 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act had made it impossible for anyone new to immigrate from China and since this made it impossible for many Chinese to bring in their families many returned to China, while others never saw their families again.

In Idaho, there was a two-pronged assault to remove the Chinese. They made moves in the state legislature to ensure that no one who was Chinese could own property in the state, this included property they already owned, forcing them to sell often at only 10 percent of the actual value. Also, violence against the Chinese increased with beatings and threats forcing them to move. This culminated in the 1887 Hells Canyon Massacre where 7 white horse thieves killed 34 Chinese miners and stole over $5 thousand in gold. They were brought to trial and acquitted of the massacre.

By 1910 the Chinese population of Idaho had dropped from 4,000 to less than 45. Through violence and lawful intimidation the men who gathered in Boise on this day in 1886 accomplished their goal.