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Ideas for Plague article
article chosen: Tong(organization)

The "Bachelor Society" that triggered the importing of Chinese women. Add some information on how Tongs in Chinatown were involved with importing Chinese women to America for prostitution. Also, how tongs played a role in the plague outbreak of Chinatown and their response to the vaccination.

Sources I am using for the addition: Chang, Iris. The Chinese in America: a Narrative History. Penguin Books, 2003.

Risse, Guenter B. Plague, Fear, and Politics in San Francisco's Chinatown. The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2012.

The term tong became a word that refers to the secret brotherhoods that were in Chinatown and they were often battling with other associations in that area. Tongs are usually composed of young men, some of which with criminal backgrounds, or outcasts that have been expelled from their associations. The tongs were providing services for immigrants such as employment and housing opportunities. They also helped resolve individual and group disputes within the community. The tongs were involved with importing many Chinese women to America for prostitution. Many of these women did not come to America by choice and some were deceived and forced into prostitution by procurers. Tongs that were associated with importing women to America were fighting over territories and profits.

Plague: During the plague outbreak in the Chinatown of San Francisco in the 1900s, the Chinese Six Companies decided to suggest the vaccination plan to their members and the tongs. Doubting the effectiveness of the vaccination plan, the Chinese residents in Chinatown refused inoculations to avoid risks. Several of the tongs threatened to harm anyone who would get the vaccination and the Chinese leaderships.