Dangerous Strangers : Minority Newcomers and Criminal Violence in the Urban West, 1850-2000

Have newcomers to American cities been responsible for a disproportionate amount of violent crime? Dangerous Strangers takes up this question by examining the incidence of criminal violence among several waves of immigrant/ethnic groups in San Francisco over 150 years. By looking at a variety of groups - Irish, German, Italian, and Chinese immigrants, primarily - and their different experiences at varying times in the city's history, this study addresses the issue of how much violence can be attributed to new groups' treatment by the host society and how much can be traced to traits found in their community of origin. Dangerous Strangers fills an acknowledged gap in the literature of homicide studies and broadens our understanding of newcomer violence.

Have newcomers to American cities been responsible for a disproportionate amount of violent crime? Dangerous Strangers takes up this question by examining the incidence of criminal violence among several waves of immigrant/ethnic groups in San Francisco over 150 years. By looking at a variety of groups—Irish, German, Italian, and Chinese immigrants, primarily—and their different experiences at varying times in the city's history, this study addresses the issue of how much violence can be attributed to new groups' treatment by the host society and how much can be traced to traits found in their community of origin. Dangerous Strangers fills an acknowledged gap in the literature of homicide studies and broadens our understanding of newcomer violence.

"Have newcomers to American cities been responsible for a disproportionate amount of violent crime? Dangerous Strangers takes up this question by examining the incidence of criminal violence among several waves of immigrant and ethnic groups in San Francisco." "By looking at a variety of groups - primarily Irish, German, Italian, and Chinese - and their different experiences at varying times in the city's history, this book addresses the issue of how much violence can be attributed to new groups' treatment by the host society, and how much can be traced to traits found in their community. Dangerous Strangers fills a gap in the literature of homicide studies and broadens our understanding of newcomer violence."--Jacket Cover......Page 1 Contents......Page 8 Illustrations......Page 10 Acknowledgments......Page 12 1 Introduction......Page 14 2 Australians......Page 26 3 Latinos......Page 42 4 Irish......Page 58 5 Chinese......Page 76 6 Italians......Page 96 7 African Americans......Page 116 8 Violent Rainbow......Page 134 Afterword......Page 148 Appendix 1 Methods......Page 154 Appendix 2 Sources......Page 158 Notes......Page 160 Bibliography......Page 198 B......Page 210 D......Page 211 H......Page 212 L......Page 213 O......Page 214 S......Page 215 Z......Page 216