EXPLORATION, ENCOUNTER, EXCHANGE IN HISTORY
A
Official map of “Chinatown” in San Francisco, 1885
Library of Congress
www.loc.gov/resource/g4364s.ct002129/
nalyzing and gathering information from the political cartoon, pie charts, and leaflet encourages students to examine
responses to immigration on a national level. However, primary sources also can provide opportunities to investigate
encounters and exchanges on a local level. These approaches to primary sources documenting the particular experiences
of Chinese immigrant communities can serve as models for students as they explore similar experiences within their
own communities.
Consider first this 1885 map of San Francisco’s Chinatown. Select questions from the Analyzing Maps Teacher’s Guide
(www.loc.gov/teachers/using primarysources/guides.html) to facilitate an analysis.
Focus on what information can be gathered about Chinatown from the map:
• In what ways is the map evidence of exploration? Encounter? Exchange? Who is recording the exploration?
• If this map were the only source of information you had about San Francisco’s pre-1900s Chinatown, what would you know
or believe about the area and its inhabitants?
• In what ways might the map be different if it had been produced by the inhabitants of Chinatown?
Much of the city of San Francisco, including Chinatown, was destroyed by an earthquake and resultant fires on Wednesday,
April 18, 1906. While this was a devastating tragedy, it was also an opportunity to rebuild and renew.
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