SEPARATE LIVES, BROKEN DREAMS
POLITICAL CARTOONS & ILLUSTRATIONS

Satirical cartoons and illustrations in periodicals during the time of Chinese Exclusion not only reported on particular events and issues of the day, but they also conveyed editorial commentary and popular sentiment as well. Coverage of international relations with China reflected official U.S. policies towards expanding trade in China. On the domestic front, Chinese in America were initially viewed as a curiosity, but they were eventually portrayed in ever more ominous and threatening ways as "slanted eyed" foreigners or even animal-like beings. While some representations of Chinese immigrants were subtle in nature, others were drawn to be quite blatant and mean spirited in their intent.

Commentary regarding a few political cartoons and illustrations selected from the documentary SEPARATE LIVES, BROKEN DREAMS are graciously provided by noted historian, Philip P. Choy, co-author of The Coming Man: 19th Century American Perceptions of the Chinese (Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 1994).

Pacific Mail Steamship "Alaska"

SOURCE: "On Board the Pacific Mail Steamship 'Alaska'" (artist unknown), Harper’s Weekly, 20 May 1876, pp. 408-409; University of California, Berkeley, Bancroft Library.