In The University of California Book of California Wine, Jack Chen, writing about the contributions of the Chinese, notes that in the 1880s, Chinese made up 80 to 85 percent of the vineyard workers in California. For the prior decade, however, anti-Chinese sentiment had been building as the economy worsened and unemployment rose. In 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, banning further immigration. By the 1890s, Chinese who worked in vineyards were being taxed a punitive charge of $2.50 a month, and labor leaders had successfully forced several wineries to add the racist statement "Made with White Labor" to their bottles.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Chinese in the Vineyards
In The University of California Book of California Wine, Jack Chen, writing about the contributions of the Chinese, notes that in the 1880s, Chinese made up 80 to 85 percent of the vineyard workers in California. For the prior decade, however, anti-Chinese sentiment had been building as the economy worsened and unemployment rose. In 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, banning further immigration. By the 1890s, Chinese who worked in vineyards were being taxed a punitive charge of $2.50 a month, and labor leaders had successfully forced several wineries to add the racist statement "Made with White Labor" to their bottles.
