The Wasp — 1879 — page 782: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical cartoon critiques the employment of Chinese laborers by American farmers. The left panel shows an elderly white farmer with a sombrero and dog standing by a "Help Wanted" sign, appearing unable to hire workers. The right panel depicts multiple white men lounging idly, apparently unwilling to work. The caption "WHY OUR FARMERS EMPLOY CHINAMEN" directly addresses a contentious political issue of 1880s California: Chinese immigration and labor competition. The satire suggests that white workers refused agricultural jobs, forcing farmers to hire Chinese immigrants—implying white unemployment resulted from their own unwillingness to work rather than from Chinese workers "stealing" jobs, a common anti-Chinese argument of the era. This reflects the intense anti-Chinese sentiment and labor disputes characteristic of Gilded Age California.