The First Chinese American: The Remarkable Life of Wong Chin Foo

Scott D. Seligman

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Hong Kong University Press

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The First Chinese American

The Remarkable Life of Wong Chin Foo

Language: English

Published/Copyright: 2013

About this book

Chinese in America endured abuse and discrimination in the late nineteenth century, but they had a leader and a fighter in Wong Chin Foo (1847–1898), whose story is a forgotten chapter in the struggle for equal rights in America. The first to use the term “Chinese American,” Wong defended his compatriots against malicious scapegoating and urged them to become Americanized to win their rights. A trailblazer and a born showman who proclaimed himself China’s first Confucian missionary to the United States, he founded America’s first association of Chinese voters and testified before Congress to get laws that denied them citizenship repealed. Wong challenged Americans to live up to the principles they freely espoused but failed to apply to the Chinese in their midst. This evocative biography is the first book-length account of the life and times of one of America’s most famous Chinese—and one of its earliest campaigners for racial equality.

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Frontmatter
i

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Contents
v

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Preface
ix

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Acknowledgments
xv

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A Note on Romanization and Chinese Names
xix

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Wong Chin Foo Chronology
xxi

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Dramatis Personae
xxvii

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1. The Arid Land of Heathenism (1847–67)
1

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2. An Abbreviated American Education (1868–70)
15

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3. The Timber from Which Conspirators Are Made (1871–72)
27

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4. Soiled Doves (1873–74)
39

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5. A Hare-Brained, Half-Crazy Man (1873–74)
49

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6. America’s First Confucian Missionary (1874)
55

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7. A Most Delightful Dish of Chow Chow (1875–79)
63

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8. A Terror to the Chinese Community (1879–82)
77

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9. The Chinese American (1883)
89

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10. Wiping Out the Stain (1883–85)
101

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11. I Shall Drive Him Back to His Sand Lots (1883)
111

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12. Pigtails in Politics (1884–86)
119

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13. Chop Suey (1884–86)
125

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14. Why Am I a Heathen? (1887)
135

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15. Fifty Cents a Pound (1887)
149

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16. The Chinese in New York (1887–89)
159

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17. I Have Always Been a Republican (1888–89)
169

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18. I’ll Cut Your Head Off If You Write Such Things (1888–91)
177

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19. The Only New Yorker Without a Country (1891)
187

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20. The Chinese Equal Rights League (1892)
195

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21. Is It Then a Crime to Be a Chinaman? (1893)
209

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22. An Ardent Worker for Justice (1893)
221

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23. False Starts (1894–95)
235

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24. The American Liberty Party (1896)
241

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25. A Letter from My Friends in America (1894–97)
251

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26. Citizenship for Americanized Chinese (1897)
261

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27. When the World Came to Omaha (1897–98)
275

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28. I Do Not Like Chinese Ways, Nor Chinamen Any More (1898)
283

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Afterword
289

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Appendix: Wong Chin Foo’s Published Works
297

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Notes
305

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Glossary and Gazetteer
341

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Bibliography
347

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Index
357

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Publishing information

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

eBook published on:

August 21, 2024

eBook ISBN:

9789882208438

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

Main content:

396

https://doi.org/10.1515/9789882208438

eBook ISBN: 9789882208438

Audience(s) for this book

For universities and colleges of further and higher education

Hong Kong University Press

The First Chinese American

Overview

About this book

Topics

Table of contents

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

A Note on Romanization and Chinese Names

Wong Chin Foo Chronology

Dramatis Personae

1. The Arid Land of Heathenism (1847–67)

2. An Abbreviated American Education (1868–70)

3. The Timber from Which Conspirators Are Made (1871–72)

4. Soiled Doves (1873–74)

5. A Hare-Brained, Half-Crazy Man (1873–74)

6. America’s First Confucian Missionary (1874)

7. A Most Delightful Dish of Chow Chow (1875–79)

8. A Terror to the Chinese Community (1879–82)

9. The Chinese American (1883)

10. Wiping Out the Stain (1883–85)

11. I Shall Drive Him Back to His Sand Lots (1883)

12. Pigtails in Politics (1884–86)

13. Chop Suey (1884–86)

14. Why Am I a Heathen? (1887)

15. Fifty Cents a Pound (1887)

16. The Chinese in New York (1887–89)

17. I Have Always Been a Republican (1888–89)

18. I’ll Cut Your Head Off If You Write Such Things (1888–91)

19. The Only New Yorker Without a Country (1891)

20. The Chinese Equal Rights League (1892)

21. Is It Then a Crime to Be a Chinaman? (1893)

22. An Ardent Worker for Justice (1893)

23. False Starts (1894–95)

24. The American Liberty Party (1896)

25. A Letter from My Friends in America (1894–97)

26. Citizenship for Americanized Chinese (1897)

27. When the World Came to Omaha (1897–98)

28. I Do Not Like Chinese Ways, Nor Chinamen Any More (1898)

Afterword

Appendix: Wong Chin Foo’s Published Works

Notes

Glossary and Gazetteer

Bibliography

Index

Bibliographic data