User:IvoShandor/Rock Springs Massacre work page


 * Rock Springs Massacre

Expansion/Sources
I will be working on improving this article past GA status now. I am just going to make some important notes below, for my, or anyone else's use. IvoShandor 15:03, 29 April 2007 (UTC)


 * Possible sources
 * Grant, Frederic James, "History of Seattle, Washington," (Google Books), American publishing and engraving co., 1891. Retrieved 29 April 2007.
 * Camp Point Butte," National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form, Diocese of Cheyenne. Retrieved 29 April 2007.
 * Saxton, Alexander. The Indispensable Enemy: labor and the anti-Chinese movement in California, (Google Books), University of California Press, 1971. ISBN: (0520029054). Retrieved 30 April 2007. (contains verification for description, offers additional perspective)
 * Larson, Taft Alfred. History of Wyoming, (Google Books), University of Nebraska Press, 1990, Pg. 141-144; (ISBN: 0803279361). Retrieved 30 April 2007. (good source, complete section on the riot)
 * Daniels, Roger. Asian America: Chinese and Japanese in the United States Since 1850, (Google Books), University of Washington Press, 1990, pp. 61-63, (ISBN: 0295970189). Retrieved 30 April 2007. (Another decent roundup)
 * Waley-Cohen, Joanna. The Sextants of Beijing: Global Currents in Chinese History, (Google Books), W.W. Norton & Company, 1999, pp. 176-177, (ISBN: 0393320510). Retrieved 30 April 2007.
 * Yep, Laurence. True Heroes, (EbscoHost), Academic Search Premier, Horn Book Magazine, November/December 2002, Vol. 78, Issue 6, (ISSN: 0018-5078). Retrieved 30 April 2007. (Contains information on a "Grandma" Williams, who heroically sheltered Chinese in Rock Springs until the territorial militia arrived. This article lacks context, however).
 * Healy, Patrick Joseph and Ng, Poon Chew."A Statement for Non-Exclusion," (Google Books), 1905, pg. 238-239. Retrieved 2 May 2007.
 * Lyman, Stanford Morris. "The Rock Springs Riot: A Moment in Exclusion's Proactive History," Roads to Dystopia: Sociological Essays on the Postmodern Condition, (Google Books), University of Arkansas Press, 2001, pp. 132-134, (ISBN 1557287112), Retrieved 2 May 2007.
 * Tucker, Henry St. George. "Limitations on the treaty-making power under the Constitution of the United States," (Google Books), Little, Brown, and Company, 1915, pp. 271-273. Retrieved 3 May 2007.
 * Daniels, Roger. "Book review - Incident at Bitter Creek: The Story of the Rock Springs Massacre - Craig Storti; Rock Springs Massacre," (JSTOR), The Pacific Historical Review, Vol. 61, No. 1, February 1992, pp. 144-145. Retrieved 4 May 2007.


 * Storti, Craig and Daniels, Roger. Communication - Letter from Storti The Pacific Historical Review, Vol. 61, No. 4, November 1992, pp. 594-595. Retrieved 4 May 2007.
 * Expansion
 * ✅ Diversify the sources for the actual description of the riot, the NRHP form seems pretty good.
 * One more would be nice, have added NRHP form. IvoShandor 16:39, 29 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Have several now, should be suffcient. Some of the details, I have only found in the Chinese account so far, which makes sense because they are pretty specific. IvoShandor 07:49, 2 May 2007 (UTC)
 * What would be really nice is an account from white miners; I highly doubt such a thing exists. IvoShandor 21:55, 2 May 2007 (UTC)
 * As a note, I have yet to read Craig Sorti's book, it may provide further information. IvoShandor 21:57, 2 May 2007 (UTC)
 * ✅ Verification on some of the connections wouldn't hurt, the book above seems to be just that.
 * The History of Seattle book called the massacre the beginning of the lawless period of anti-Chinese sentiment in the Puget Sound area. IvoShandor 07:49, 2 May 2007 (UTC)
 * ✅ Use NRHP form to expand prior activity in Rock Springs section.
 * Added what info was in the National Register form. IvoShandor 16:39, 29 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Expanded further and changed to "Causation," see below. IvoShandor 07:49, 2 May 2007 (UTC)
 * ✅ Consider a possible causes section. IvoShandor 15:41, 29 April 2007 (UTC)
 * See above. IvoShandor 07:49, 2 May 2007 (UTC)
 * ✅ - needs expansion Feels like something else is missing, a significance or further context section, I know the riot affected treaty negotiations between the U.S. and China b/c of delayed victim's compensation. I require further verification for this, but I think it merits a section. IvoShandor 16:39, 29 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Have added a bit, more detail on the treaty aspect would be nice. IvoShandor 07:49, 2 May 2007 (UTC)
 * ✅ The lead will need to be rewritten/added to after all is said and done. IvoShandor 16:40, 29 April 2007 (UTC)
 * I am working on this in my user space right now, see User:IvoShandor/Rock Springs Massacre work page.
 * ❌ It is becoming clearer that the Knights of Labor were the driving force behind this event.
 * Have included several pieces of info regarding the Knights, may merit a more concise summary, either as an expanded graf in the causation section or its own subsection somewhere. This also helps put Powderly's reaction into context. IvoShandor 07:49, 2 May 2007 (UTC)
 * This will be worked on in my user space. I will post it to the article when I have something significant.
 * ✅ Added this stuff to this list well after it was completed, just here for your information. Expand aftermath to include military deployments.

IvoShandor 21:59, 2 May 2007 (UTC) IvoShandor 12:33, 30 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Other
 * ✅ - mostly Images, may need to enlist some help here.
 * Or not. I have added several free use images, portraits of Terence Powderly and Grover Cleveland to the Reaction section. Two images, one of Gov. Frances E Warren and the other of federal troops in Rock Springs in 1885, to the immediate aftermath section. I added an 1885 editorial cartoon from harper's weekly to the riot section, though I think it satirizes the diplomatic gaffe that the riot led to and would be better suited for that section once it evolves. Could still use something to illustrate the actual riot with. IvoShandor 17:30, 29 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Another peer review in order after this?
 * ❌ Have just foregone the peer review process, which is rather weak these days anyway, in lieu of direct requests with a few editors, including those who have helped with this page in some way. IvoShandor 17:28, 2 May 2007 (UTC)
 * ❌ Copy edit.
 * Copyeditors: Please sign below, add section(s) edited, or just note the whole article if that is the case.
 * IvoShandor 16:39, 29 April 2007 (UTC): I am making little changes here and there, I will go over it thoroughly when my expansion is completed.
 * Preliminary pass complete save for "Diplomatic issues" and "Reaction subsections. IvoShandor 07:23, 3 May 2007 (UTC)

This list will quite likely change with time. I curse the Hagermanbot. IvoShandor 15:03, 29 April 2007 (UTC)
 * ✅ GA review items - LordHarris has acknowledged, above, that the outstanding points about condensing the article, made on the passing GA review, have been suffciently addressed. IvoShandor 09:03, 30 April 2007 (UTC)
 * ✅ - Unless concerns are raised (Cites can always be added easily) Which leaves the lead, my understanding is only extraordinary claims need be referenced in the lead if the are everything is referenced in the article. We will have to see what may warrant citation in the lead after it is rewritten pending further work. IvoShandor 09:03, 30 April 2007 (UTC)

Source material

 * NRHP Form

Arrests

 * From NRHP form

Causes

 * From NRHP form, any section would incorporate info already found either, in the article or in current source material.

''

Lead

 * Version #1: Three paragraphs.

The Rock Springs Massacre (also known as the Rock Springs Riot) occurred on September 2, 1885 in the present-day U.S. city of Rock Springs, Wyoming in Sweetwater County. The riot, between Chinese immigrant miners and white miners, was the result of racial tensions and an ongoing labor dispute over the Union Pacific Coal Company's policy of paying Chinese miners lower wages than white miners. When the rioting ended, 28 Chinese miners were dead and 15 were wounded. Rioters burned 75 Chinese homes resulting in about $150,000 property damage. Sixteen white miners were arrested in connection with the riot but all were released when a Sweetwater County grand jury announced there was no cause for legal action when no witnesses could be produced to testify to white men committing crimes during the riot. After the men were released, the mining company did dismiss 45 white miners for their participation in the lawlessness.

Tension between whites and Chinese immigrants in the late 19th century American West was particularly high, especially in the decade preceding the violence. The massacre in Rock Springs was the violent outburst of years of anti-"coolie" sentiment in the United States. The 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act suspended Chinese immigration for ten years but not before many thousands of immigrants came to the American West. Most of the immigrants to Wyoming took jobs with the railroad at first but many ended up employed in coal mines owned by the Union Pacific Railroad. As Chinese immigration increased, so did anti-Chinese sentiment from whites. The Knights of Labor, one of the foremost voices against Chinese immigrant labor, formed a chapter in Rock Springs in 1883 and many of the rioters were members of that organization. No connection was ever established between the riot and the national Knights of Labor organization.

In the immediate aftermath of the riot federal troops were deployed in Rock Springs. The troops escorted the surviving Chinese miners, most of whom had fled to Evanston, Wyoming, back to Rock Springs a week after the riot. Reaction came swiftly from the era's publications. In Rock Springs, the local newspaper endorsed the outcome of the riot while in other Wyoming newspapers support for the riot was limited to sympathy for the causes of the white miners. The New York Times roundly condemned the riot, the rioters and the city of Rock Springs in at least two editorials on the topic. U.S. President Grover Cleveland reacted in his State of the Union message to Congress in 1885 acknowledging that race prejudice was a major factor in the riot. The massacre in Rock Springs touched off a wave of anti-Chinese violence, especially in the Puget Sound area of Washington Territory. Rioting and mob actions broke out in Seattle, Tacoma and Issaquah, Washington in the months following the Rock Springs Massacre.


 * Version #2: Three paragraphs

The Rock Springs Massacre (also known as the Rock Springs Riot) occurred on September 2, 1885 in the present-day U.S. city of Rock Springs, Wyoming in Sweetwater County. The riot, between Chinese immigrant miners and white miners, was the result of racial tensions and an ongoing labor dispute over the Union Pacific Coal Company's policy of paying Chinese miners lower wages than white miners. When the rioting ended, 28 Chinese miners were dead and 15 were wounded. Rioters burned 75 Chinese homes resulting in about $150,000 property damage.

Tension between whites and Chinese immigrants in the late 19th century American West was particularly high, especially in the decade preceding the violence. The massacre in Rock Springs was the violent outburst of years of anti-"coolie" sentiment in the United States. The 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act suspended Chinese immigration for ten years but not before many thousands of immigrants came to the American West. Most of the immigrants to Wyoming took jobs with the railroad at first but many ended up employed in coal mines owned by the Union Pacific Railroad. As Chinese immigration increased, so did anti-Chinese sentiment from whites. The Knights of Labor, one of the foremost voices against Chinese immigrant labor, formed a chapter in Rock Springs in 1883 and many of the rioters were members of that organization. No connection was ever established between the riot and the national Knights of Labor organization.

In the immediate aftermath of the riot federal troops were deployed in Rock Springs. The troops escorted the surviving Chinese miners, most of whom had fled to Evanston, Wyoming, back to Rock Springs a week after the riot. Reaction came swiftly from the era's publications. In Rock Springs, the local newspaper endorsed the outcome of the riot while in other Wyoming newspapers support for the riot was limited to sympathy for the causes of the white miners. The massacre in Rock Springs touched off a wave of anti-Chinese violence, especially in the Puget Sound area of Washington Territory. Rioting and mob actions broke out in Seattle, Tacoma and Issaquah, Washington in the months following the Rock Springs Massacre.

Rock Springs Massacre
Hello there. As you have commented on or assisted with editing Rock Springs Massacre in the past, I thought I would notify you that the article reached Good article status recently, (if you didn't already know that). Since then I have undertaken a significant expansion/overhaul/source verification mission which has resulted in a new version of the article. Soon, I hope to take it to Featured Article candidates. What it needs now is some outside input and copy editing. Anything you can offer in the area would be helpful. You may want to start by taking a look at the talk page first, I have been updating my progress on the article there regularly. Thanks ahead of time for your help. IvoShandor 09:30, 2 May 2007 (UTC)

Knights of Labor stuff
This is what is already in the article.


 * The Knights were one of the groups spearheading opposition to Chinese labor during the 1880s.
 * This is relevant background.


 * By 1883, the Knights of Labor had organized a chapter in Rock Springs.[8] The Knights were one of the groups spearheading opposition to Chinese labor during the 1880s
 * The white miners, most of whom were members of the Knights of Labor, then walked out of the mine causing the mine's white foreman to suspend work at the pit for the day.
 * Most of the miners involved with the riot were members of the organization. This should be pretty easily citable.


 * There is no proof that the Knights of Labor were behind the massacre at Rock Springs but the group's strong anti-Chinese position was weakened as a result of the riot.
 * It seems that the local chapter, at least, was the driving force behind the riots.


 * Powderly's reaction definitely belongs in the reaction section.
 * The meeting hall was the Knights of Labor meeting hall.
 * This needs a cite but I have it in a source.


 * The KOL were not the sole impetus nor was labor dispute (this is clear in the article).
 * The KOL was important to labor history (not the most important - of course) and the Rocks Springs Massacre was significant to the KOL (but not the most significant event - Haymarket et. al. had much more influence on the group). Found this in a book review (one of many widely panning Craig Sorti's conclusions) on JSTOR.

Modern context

 * Probably goes best in Causation, which still leaves stinkin' a conclusion of some sort.

Today, historians hold the view that the prime factor which contributed to the riot was race prejudice. A 1990 work on the Rock Springs Massacre, written by journalist Craig Storti, marginalized the racial factor and put a stronger emphasis on the economic factors which contributed to violence. His book, Incident at Bitter Creek: The Rock Springs Massacre, was roundly panned by historical critics. Though Storti claimed he represented the historical record as it stood. Roger Daniels, a scholar of the Massacre in his own right, criticized Storti's work; Daniels asserted that Storti believed the cause of the massacre was the "failure of the Chinese to become integrated into American culture." Storti responded to the review in a letter, stating, in part, "Mr. Daniels' numerous inaccurate statements rival those he claims to have found in my text."

There were labor and economic considerations that contributed to the violence in Rock Springs, though they are generally seen as less significant. The use of Chinese workers by the railroad during the 187? strike (1874-75 - can't remember) created widespread resentment among the white miners.


 * Okay, ummm?
 * From 1874-1885, resentment builds.
 * The riot was the apex of this rising tide of anger and hatred.
 * Keep it short and sweet.
 * One other reviewer of Storti's book
 * Labor aspect, wages, Chinese v. White

So what about Warren?
Some facts I have run across, sources to come:
 * Warren was seen as pro-business b/c of his stance at Rock Springs.
 * Warren resigned was dismissed amidst scandal (?) and political clashes, the scandal seemed mostly politically charged and probably unrelated to Rock Springs as source doesn't mention it.
 * Another source (just an outline of a university course) implies that Warren's actions were for his own benefit as he had been coerced by the railroad, and mingled with them for years.

Some of this may merit mention in the political issues section.

Below is information from the following web source:Chollak, Mark "The Rock Springs Massacre – Sept. 2 1885," (Lecture outline), History 1251: History of Wyoming, University of Wyoming, spring 2006, Retrieved 6 May 2007.


 * Requested the involvement of federal troops.
 * Personally came to town the next day to oversee the efforts to restore order
 * Led to the establishment of Camp Pilot Butte.
 * Helped to make Warren’s career as a politician

-Warren’s other motivations
 * Vast land holdings in and around Cheyenne.
 * Problems getting his land titles cleared.
 * Warren and others had been petitioning U.P. for years to release clear title.
 * Claims that not all money had been collected for the land.
 * Correspondence proves that Warren had been cozying up to U.P. officials while in office, and asking to have the titles cleared at the same time.
 * Did Warren act so quickly in the case of the Rock Springs Massacre in order to protect the Chinese or to protect his own business interests?
 * No definitive answer, but it was likely a combination of these.
 * Warren's reaction and request for federal troops in Rock Springs was another tool his detractors used to paint him as "pro-business."[cite me]

Governor Warren's reaction to the massacre was probably, in part, due to personal business holdings, as well as a desire to protect Chinese miners and it helped make his career as a poltician. Letters prove that Warren was close to Union Pacific officials during his term in office and that he petitioned the company for years to clear the titles on land he owned. The U.S. National Archives holds dozens of letters to the Department of the Interior concerning Warren as governor of Wyoming. Many letters supported him, including one from UP President Charles Francis Adams, Jr. but there were many letters from political enemies which depicted him as "so deeply involved in business that he could not properly attend to the duties of his position." In the end, letters from two Wyoming lawyers charged that Warren illegally used federal funds when he appointed business associates to political positions. They also charged that he used his position to further his business interests in Wyoming. Warren nearly resigned his office as early as March 1886 but rescinded his resignation before it reached Cleveland; regardless Cleveland suspended him as governor on November 5, 1886 and appointed George W. Baxter to the position.

Open questions

 * Conclusion? See below.
 * Cleveland and his 1888 loss - I can only find one mention of the 1888 election being influenced by the massacre, none of the scholarly material I have read mentions this influence at all. I am thinking about removing the sentence. Thoughts?
 * Warren? See below.
 * Anything glaring?
 * Style problems?
 * Should there be a non breaking space between only measurements and numbers or should something like 52 miners have a non breaking space as well?
 * Are the refs formatted well enough, there may be a couple of minor consistency errors. Anything missing?


 * Lead length?

To-do

 * Warren and his political career - see User:IvoShandor/Rock Springs Massacre work page.
 * None of the academic papers I have read seem to mention Warren's dismissal and the Rock Springs Massacre together, I will need to consult some other sources on this because some web sources (which I would consider to be reliable) have implied that Warren's dismissal/resignation was affected by a scandal which may or may not have included his involvement with the Union Pacific Railroad Company and thus the events surrounding Rock Springs. Hmm. I wouldn't include much, as most of the material I have been reading is much better suited for the article on Warren but anything relevant to Warren and the Rock Springs Massacre should be included I would say. Comments?


 * Causation - racial factors.
 * The KOL was important to labor history (not the most important - of course) and the Rocks Springs Massacre was significant to the KOL (but not the most significant event - Haymarket et. al. had much more influence on the group). Found this in a book review (one of many widely panning Craig Sorti's conclusions) on JSTOR.
 * This idea should be added, I have the cite already ready already.


 * Copy edit
 * On going


 * Red links:
 * Conclusion: I was thinking significance: Could talk about Camp Pilot Butte's listing on the Register and what happened to it, the military's stay in Rock Springs and how Rock Springs was seen as the worst of the incidents even though it didn't have the most casualties and why. Just a good wrap up basically.
 * Rework lead (again)
 * Memorials: ongoing, still trying to find out if there are any.
 * Anti Chinese cat?

Strike
On September 30, 1885 white miners, mostly Finnish immigrants who were members of the Knights of Labor, walked out of the mines in Carbon County, Wyoming in protest of the company's continued use of Chinese miners. In Rock Springs, the white miners were still not back at work in late September because the company still used Chinese labor. The strike was unsuccessful and the miners went back to work within a couple of months. The national Knights of Labor organization refused to get behind the Carbon strike and the hold out by white miners in Rock Springs following the Rock Springs Riot. The organization avoided supporting the miners along the Union Pacific Railroad because it didn't want to be seen as condoning the violence at Rock Springs.

Yeah
The Rock Springs Massacre was seen by observers at the time, and historians today, as the worst and most significant of the instances of anti–Chinese violence in the United States. The riot received wide media coverage from many important publications such as the The National Police Gazette and The New York Times. Among the events of anti-Chinese violence in the American west, the Rock Springs Massacre is considered the most widely publicized. The attacks at Rock Springs were extraordinarily violent, revealing a long held, almost "feral", hatred of the victims. The sheer brutality of the violence "startled" the entire country. Besides those who were burned alive some miners were scalped, mutilated, branded, decapitated, dismembered and hanged from gutter spouts. One of the Chinese miners had his penis and testicles cut off and toasted in a nearby saloon as a "trophy of the hunt." The events amounted to racial terrorism.

Today, historians hold the view that the prime factor which contributed to the riot was race prejudice. A 1990 work on the Rock Springs Massacre, written by journalist Craig Storti, marginalized the racial factor and put a stronger emphasis on the economic factors which contributed to violence. His book, Incident at Bitter Creek: The Rock Springs Massacre, was roundly panned by historical critics. Though Storti claimed he represented the historical record as it stood. Roger Daniels, a scholar Chinese immigration in his own right, criticized Storti's work; Daniels asserted that Storti believed the cause of the massacre was the "failure of the Chinese to become integrated into American culture." Storti responded to the review in a letter, stating, in part, "Mr. Daniels' numerous inaccurate statements rival those he claims to have found in my text." There were labor considerations that contributed to the violence in Rock Springs, though they are generally seen as less significant. The use of Chinese workers by the railroad during an 1875 strike created widespread resentment among the white miners, which continued to build until the Rock Springs Massacre. Storti's book described anti–Chinese racism as "pervasive" even while downplaying its significance to the riot. The failure of the Chinese to assimilate into American culture is largely a myth and long perpetuated stereotype. Regardless, the view was held historically and still carries weight within the modern-day interpretation of the historical record.

21st century Rock Springs is no longer the mining town it was in 1885, with a population pushing 20,000 the settlement is a full-fledged city. The area that once encompassed Camp Pilot Butte is located on the north bank of Bitter Creek, in the northwest part of the city. The camp covered 5½ acres of Union Pacific property; the parade ground was in the center of a present-day city block bounded by Soulsby Street on the west, Pilot Butte Avenue on the east, Bridger Avenue on the north and Elias Avenue on its south. In 1973 the area where the army post once existed was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places as an historic district, at the time there were only two remaining structures. The two buildings were owned by the Catholic Church, Saints Cyril and Methodius in Rock Springs. The buildings are no longer extant and the property is no longer listed on the National Register. The area that was once Chinatown, just to the north of where Camp Pilot Butte once stood, had a public elementary school built over part it. In general, the locations in Rock Springs associated with the massacre have been surrounded and absorbed by the city's growth.

Message 2
Well, it's been awhile but I have a few more tweaks to go and Rock Springs Massacre is ready for FAC. I have made a few last notes on what I see left as far as work and hoped you might be able to undertake a copy edit and/or brief look at the article one final time. Thanks. 10:58, 21 July 2007 (UTC)

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