History of Chinese Americans in Chicago facts for kids
The Chicago area is home to many people of Chinese heritage. In 2010, about 43,228 Chinese Americans lived in Chicago. This was about 1.6% of the city's total population. This group includes people born in the U.S. with Chinese roots. It also includes immigrants from Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia. Some people are also of mixed heritage.
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History of Chinese People in Chicago
The first Chinese people arrived in Chicago around 1869. This was when the first transcontinental railway was finished. Early immigrants often came from working-class or lower middle-class backgrounds. Many of the very first arrivals were Cantonese speakers.
By 1874, Chinese people ran one tea shop and 18 laundry businesses in central Chicago. However, in 1882, the U.S. Congress passed the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act. This law greatly limited Chinese immigration. It also made it hard for Chinese people already in the U.S. to travel freely. This meant those in Chicago often had to stay put. Some Chinese people at this time were living in the U.S. without proper papers. Government officials would deport those who were found. In 1900, the U.S. Census counted 1,462 Chinese people in Chicago. Experts believe more Chinese people might have been living there without being counted.
New Waves of Immigration
Chinese immigration slowly began again after 1943. This was when the Chinese exclusion laws were finally removed. During the 1950s, the Chinese population in Chicago grew from 3,000 to 6,000. Many immigrants from Taiwan and Hong Kong settled in Chicago in the 1950s and 1960s. After the People's Republic of China was formed in 1949, a new group of immigrants came from mainland China. These Mandarin-speaking people often settled in different parts of Chicago and its suburbs. They did not always stay in the main Chinatown area. The 1965 Immigration Act further increased Chinese settlement. This brought even more people from Mainland China.
By 1970, about 12,000 Chinese people lived in Chicago. After the Fall of Saigon in the 1970s, many ethnic Chinese people came from Southeast Asia. A new Chinatown opened in Uptown during this time. Many Southeast Asian refugees were drawn to this new community. The 1990 U.S. Census showed over 23,000 Chinese people in Chicago. By the 2000 U.S. Census, nearly 74,000 Chinese people lived in the wider Chicago metropolitan area. About 34,000 of them were in the city of Chicago itself.
Where Chinese People Live in Chicago
In 1990, about 60,000 ethnic Chinese people lived in the Chicago metropolitan area. Around 10,000 of them lived in the business district of Chinatown and the area south of 26th Street.
By 1995, almost 35,000 Chinese people lived in Chicago. About 10,000 Chinese Americans lived in the main Chinatown area. Chinese Chicagoans come from many places. They include people born in the U.S. with Chinese heritage. They also include immigrants from Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia. Some are also of mixed heritage. Around 1995, many new immigrants were from farming or working-class backgrounds. Others were highly educated professionals.
As of 2013, about 90% of the people living in Chinatown were of Chinese heritage.
Community Organizations and Places
The Chinese American Museum of Chicago is located in Chinatown. The Chinese American Service League is also found in Chinatown, Chicago. These places help share Chinese culture and support the community.
Media for Chinese Americans
In 1995, Chicago had four daily Chinese newspapers. Chinese Americans who spoke both Chinese and English, or only English, often read English-language American newspapers. At that time, there were no English-language Chinese-American newspapers focused on local Chinese-American topics.
In 1983, a Mandarin-language television program began on Channel 26. In 1989, a Chinese radio station called Global Communication was started.
Education for Chinese Children
In 2003, there were 20 Chinese schools in the Chicago area. Around this time, more immigrants arrived. Also, some non-Chinese American parents sent their adopted Chinese children to these schools. This caused the number of students in Chinese schools in Chicago's northwestern suburbs to grow.
Religion Among Chinese Chicagoans
Compared to people in China, a higher number of Chinese people in Chicago are Christians. Chinese Christians have their own churches and missions. The Chinese Christian Union Church is one example. It is a church for different Christian groups. Its main building is on Wentworth Avenue in Chicago. It also has smaller locations in the suburbs and in Bridgeport.
Chinese Catholics, many of whom came from Hong Kong and became Christian there, attend St. Marie Incoronata. This is an Italian Catholic church on Alexander Street. The St. Therese School was started by the Maryknoll Sisters especially for the Chinese community.
Early Christian Missions
When Chinese people first started arriving in the U.S., Christians tried to share their faith. The first recorded Chinese Baptist mission opened on Clark Street in the Chinese area in 1878. In the early 1900s, Chicago had the most Chinese Sunday schools of any city. These smaller Sunday schools often opened near Chinese laundry businesses in the South Side and West Side of Chicago. By 1995, these Sunday schools no longer existed. Franciscan priests and nuns also set up the first Catholic missions for Chinese people.
Notable Residents
- John Chiang
- Ruth Ann Koesun
- Chow Leung
- Chloe Wang (Chloe Bennet)
