Plague at the Golden Gate
The Chinese Six Companies
On May 28, 1900, San Francisco policemen formed a perimeter around Chinatown, and set about building an eight-foot high wall around the district using cement blocks and barbed wire. Officials diagnosed bubonic plague in the neighborhood and wanted to quarantine the nearly 20,000 residents. As tensions flared, an influential group of merchants known as the Chinese Six Companies sprang into action.
Episode Clips
Dr. Joseph Kinyoun
Dr. Joseph Kinyoun was a leader in the diagnosis and prevention of infectious diseases.
Ng Poon Chew
Ng Poon Chew was a writer, a publisher and an advocate for Chinese American civil rights.
San Francisco’s Bubonic Plague Cover-up
Word spreads of a bubonic plague outbreak in San Francisco’s Chinatown.
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