R 0678

Development of the Chinese Population in Chicago

By facebooker_511243622
  • Period: to

    Male Cantonese laborers began migrating to California

    Workers were attracted to America by the promise of gold and other opportunities unavailable in China in the 1850s.

  • The first Chinese immigrants began to arrive in Chicago

    Many Chinese laborers found work on the West Coast by working on the transcontinental railroad. With the railroad's completion, many workers moved east in search of new opportunities.

  • The population of Chinese immigrants in Chicago reaches 172

    Also in the early 1880s, the first Chinatown began to develop in the Loop area of downtown Chicago near Clark Street and Van Buren Street.

  • President Arthur passed the Chinese Exclusion Act

    The Chinese Exclusion Act restricted immigration to America and prevented Chinese people from obtaining American citizenship. The prohibition of immigration stunted the growth of the Chinese population in the U.S.

  • The Chinese population in Chicago passes 1,000

  • Only 65 Chinese women lived in Chicago, as opposed to over 1,000 Chinese men

    This gender imbalance prevented the cultivation of regular families within the Chinese population.

  • Chinatown relocates to a new location in the South Side of Chicago

    Increasing rent contributed to the relocation of Chinatown in 1912.

  • The Chinese population in Chicago nears 2,500

  • Women constituted less than 6 percent of the Chinese population

  • The Magnuson Act repealed the Chinese Exclusion Act

    The Magnuson Act allowed Chinese immigrants to enter the U.S. according to a quota and become naturalized citizens.
  • Period: to

    A rapid increase of Chinese immigrants arrived in the U.S.

    During the 1950s, the Chinese population in Chicago doubled, reaching 6,000.

  • The Chinese population in Chicago reached 12,000

  • A "New Chinatown" was established on Argyle Street

    Many Vietnamese, Cambodian and Laotian immigrants were attracted to this new neighborhood.

  • The Chinese population in Chicago reached 23,000

  • The Chinese population in Chicago reached 34,000