Progressive Era: 1890–1920s: Immigration Period of Restrictions
Click image to zoom in.Or view larger version. Chinese merchant and wife, San Francisco, CA. 1875. John James Reilly, photographer. Albumen stereograph. Collection of Oakland Museum of California.
This is an Albumen Stereograph card that shows a Chinese merchant, and his wife sitting for this studio portrait, c. 1875. With high national unemployment in the wake of the Panic of 1873, racial tensions in the city boiled over into race riots. In response to the violence, the Consolidated Chinese Benevolent Association or the Chinese Six Companies was created as a means of providing the community with a unified voice. The heads of these companies were the leaders of the Chinese merchants and represented the Chinese community to business and city government interests.