Historical Context : This photo is of a Chinese man walking his children to school in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Many immigrants, especially the Chinese immigrants, had good lives where they could own businesses, establish schools that taught kids good education, and raise their families safely. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which was the only act to target immigrants from a specific country, which was China. This act prevented the Chinese from entering the United States, and the Chinese who were already in the United States from leaving and coming back into the U.S. Because the Chinese could not come in, they resorted to illegal immigration all the way until 1943. These illegal immigrants came to the United States in search of gold because of the California Gold Rush, and they were desperate for jobs in the mining industry to have the chance to strike it rich.
Intended Audience: The photographer of this photo, Arnold Genthe, intended for this photo to be seen by Americans who did not want the Chinese in the U.S.. He is trying to show how these immigrants were of no harm to the United States, They were only trying to find gold and get money to support their families during a time of desperation.
Point of View: The point of view of this photo is of the general people in San Francisco. San Francisco natives saw immigrants flood the streets as tired and overworked people. Arnold photographed the immigrants when they looked sad. The father of the two girls seems frustrated, probably because the mother is not around to take care of their two children. The mother probably is at home doing house chores, and the father probably just came from mining for gold, which is why he is tired. Purpose: This photographer, Arnold Genthe, wanted to show the daily life of a Chinese immigrant in San Francisco, a vibrant place filled with many illegal immigrants who were trying to do no harm while supporting their families. Many Americans who worked in the mining industry were mad at these immigrants because they took most of their jobs. Americans believed that they should have priority in working and earning money over the Chinese immigrants because they were born in America and they also thought that the Chinese immigrants had no business being there. In the photo, you can see the Chinese immigrant walking next to a building that reflects Chinese culture, with Chinese lanterns, the little girls wearing their petite Chinese dresses, and a building with Chinese writing with a curved rooftop. These illegal immigrants brought their culture to the United States because they knew that if they immigrated and left what they knew, they would never get to experience “The American Dream”.
Citation:
Chinatown, lantern slide by Arnold Genthe, Ca. 1896. Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 June 2016.