The History of the Tong Wars Part 1

Asian American History 101

Welcome to Season 2, Episode 29! If you’re a fan of HBO’s show Warrior, like we are, then you’re familiar with the prevalence of tongs in Chinatowns in the late 1800s and early 1900s. In this episode, we talk about The Six Companies and the formation of tongs. These tongs didn’t originate as illegal or violent groups, but that changed as a result of several factors. We focus on the challenges and environment that led up to the Tong Wars in San Francisco. We open the episode by talking about some recent current events that include Zachary Noah Piser in Dear Evan Hansen, Nathan Chen Day in Utah, Nguyen Coffee Supply in Whole Foods. We close out with a new segment called “What’s Wrong With That?” where we talk about the term “Oriental”. For previous episodes and information, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or social media links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at [e-mail].

Segments

• 00:26 Current Events
• 02:23 The History of the Tong Wars Part I
• 18:40 What’s Wrong With “Oriental”?