Chinese immigrants in Virginia City

Question 1

1. What drew many Chinese immigrants to places like Virginia City in the first place?

Free farms were being given away. Gold discoveries and the chance to earn better wages. Free houses were provided to all newcomers. There were no laws at all in Montana.

Question 2

2. From which region did most Chinese immigrants in Montana come?

Northern China near the Great Wall. Kwangtung (Guangdong) Province in southern China. Only from Hong Kong Island itself. Japan and Korea.

Question 3

3. Why were most Chinese immigrants in Montana men without their families?

Women were not allowed to ride ships. They planned short vacations in America. They hoped to earn money and send some back home before deciding whether to return or stay. Families were required to stay in California only.

Question 4

4. About how many Chinese people lived in Montana in 1870?

Fewer than 50. About 500, all in one town. About 1,949, nearly ten percent of the territory's population. Over 100,000, more than everyone else combined.

Question 5

5. How did Chinese miners usually get access to gold-bearing ground in Virginia City?

They were given all the richest new claims for free. They only mined inside government buildings. They bought or leased abandoned placer claims that white miners had already worked. They were not allowed to mine at all anywhere in Montana.

Question 6

6. What was Virginia City's Chinatown?

A fenced-off jail for Chinese prisoners only. A neighborhood at the lower end of Wallace Street where many Chinese people lived and ran businesses. A military fort guarding the gold fields. A railroad station built by Chinese engineers.

Question 7

7. What was the Joss House in Virginia City?

A gold assay office run by miners. The first public school in Montana. A two-story Chinese temple that also served as a meeting place and lodging for travelers. A hotel for stagecoach passengers only.

Question 8

8. How did Chinese community organizations, like the Chinese Six Companies or lodge-type groups, help their members?

They forced everyone to move every month. They only organized parties and dances. They set rules of conduct, helped with money or care when people were sick or in trouble, and kept order in the community. They made people give up mining completely.

Question 9

9. Which of the following was one major reason the Chinese population in Montana dropped after the 1870s?

Gold became illegal to mine anywhere in the world. Discriminatory laws like the Chinese Exclusion Act and changes in mining pushed many Chinese people out. The climate suddenly became tropical and unsafe. Chinese people were not allowed to work in any job at all after 1870.

Question 10

10. How are historians and archaeologists learning more about Chinese immigrants in Virginia City today?

Only by guessing from movie scripts. By erasing all old buildings and starting over. By studying maps, census lists, business records, photos, and artifacts from sites like Chinatown and the Joss House. By stopping all research on Chinatowns in the West.

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Chinese Immigrants in Virginia City - Quiz

Quiz: Chinese in Virginia City, Montana