In 1870, responding to the hiring of several hundred Chinese labourers in the South, North, and the West of the nation, Harper’s Weekly published a cartoon metaphorically depicting the appearance of a comet in the night sky as “a phenomenon now visible in all parts of the United States.” The cartoonist’s clever use of a comet deliberately spoke to the significance of the moment for Americans, demonstrating how the hiring of Chinese labour intrigued and beguiled a wide spectrum of society. As illustrated by the cartoonist, the telescopic gaze of employers, labour unions, and the press, all focused on this comet. These concerned parties all sought to understand the meaning of Chinese “cheap labor.”
Yet, beyond this list of concerned parties, an analysis of the cartoonist’s crowd also reveals how the appearance of the comet cut across wider society, both in regards to gender and generational boundaries. Along with men, women gathered in the street to discuss and observe the phenomenon. Children mingled in the crowd, the cartoonist purposely pointing to future generations who would be affected by the comet in the night sky.
The acute observations of the cartoonist aside, the cartoon itself asks important historical questions. Why did this metaphorical comet appear in 1870? And what did it mean to those so beguiled by the comet?
References
Harper’s Weekly, (August 6, 1870), 505.
http://immigrants.harpweek.com/ChineseAmericans/Illustrations/028TheNewCometMainBI.htm
The Chinese Question 