Homicide in Seattle's Chinatown, 1900-1940 - Evaluating the influence of social organizations

This study extends the understanding of how features of Chinese social organization influenced patterns of homicide in Seattle from 1900 to 1940. The findings illustrate that generalizations about Chinese violence fit pre-World War II Seattle homicide data: (a) Chinese homicide rates were high as a result of conflict between tong organizations involved in the vice industry; (b) the timing of tong events was driven by disputes among organizational chapters in different cities; and (c) homicide rates unrelated to tong violence were relatively low but far higher than modern Asian rates. The findings suggest the importance of considering patterns of violence within particular ethnic groups to evaluate how ethnic social organizations influence violence.