CITY OF SEATTLE
RESOLUTION _________________
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A RESOLUTION expressing regret for the anti-Chinese legislation passed by the Washington Territory and previous Seattle City Councils, recognizing the past and continuing contributions of the Chinese to Seattle and reaffirming the City's commitment to the civil rights of all people.
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WHEREAS, the Chinese presence in Seattle dates back to 1860; and
WHEREAS, many Chinese engaged in constructing the first railroads to and from Seattle, graded many of the city's roads in Pike, Union, Jackson and Washington Streets, worked at local canneries and sawmills, dug the earliest portion of the Lake Washington Canal, and worked as "domestic servants"; and
WHEREAS, a wave of anti-Chinese sentiment swept the United States, including Washington Territory, that fostered an atmosphere of racial discrimination depriving Chinese immigrants of civil rights and privileges afforded others; and
WHEREAS, Washington Territory passed anti-Chinese legislation including:
* A measure that denied Chinese the right to vote (1853).
* An "Act to Protect Free White Labor Against Competition with Chinese Coolie Labor and to Discourage the Immigration of Chinese in the Territory," which led to the "Chinese Police (poll) Tax" (1864).
* "An Act relating to Witnesses and Evidence," which prohibited Chinese from giving evidence in the courts in cases involving whites (1864).
* A law that prohibited Chinese from voting in school elections (1867).
* A law that prohibited Chinese from owning land; and
WHEREAS, this was followed by legislation passed by the United States Congress including the:
* Chinese Exclusion Act (1882), which prohibited immigration of Chinese laborers and prohibited Chinese from becoming U.S. citizens. This Act was the first time the U.S. restricted immigration based on race and nationality. Other Chinese Exclusion Acts were subsequently passed to extend the 1882 Act, which was not repealed until 1902.
* Scot...
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