Resource

Life Story: Edith Maude Eaton, aka Sui Sin Far (1865-1914)

Building Empathy Through Understanding

The story of a Chinese British immigrant who wrote about the unfair treatment of Chinese Americans in the Chinese Exclusion era.

An image of Edith Maude Eaton holding a book. She is seated at a table and wearing a long, dark, dress.
Edith Maude Eaton (aka Sui Sin Far)

Edith Maude Eaton. Courtesy of Simon Fraser University, image from the private collection of Diana Birchall, granddaughter of Winnifred Eaton.

This video was created by the New-York Historical Society Teen Leaders in collaboration with the Untold project.

Suggested Activities

  • Lesson Plan: In this lesson designed for fourth grade, students will learn about the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. They will also consider the life story of Edith Maude Eaton, and how she raised awareness about the unfair treatment of Chinese Americans in the era of Exclusion.
  • Combine Edith’s life story with the life stories of Ida B. Wells, Elizabeth Cochrane (aka Nellie Bly), and Jovita Idar Juárez for a lesson on people who used  careers in journalism to advocate for social reform.
  • Read this life story and that of Zitkala-Ša. Both women had white fathers and non-white mothers. How were their views of the world and the opportunities afforded to them shaped by their mixed-race heritage?
  • Connect this life story to the life story of Soto Shee in the Chinese American: Exclusion/Inclusion curriculum, a Chinese immigrant mother who experienced the very challenges Edith described in her writing. How did each woman experience life in the United States as a person of Chinese descent? How were their lives shaped by immigration policy?
  • Combine Edith’s life story with a reading of one of her most famous works, “In the Land of the Free.” Explore Edith’s depiction of a Chinese immigrant mother and the way in which she criticizes the US government’s policies through this short narrative.
  • Compare this resource to Life Story: Paik Kuang Sun, aka Mary Paik Lee and Life Story: Kala Bagai to get a sense of what immigration stories from Asia were like during this period. Compare these stories with those of Life in the Tenements, Medical Exams on Ellis Island, and Life Story: Mother Cabrini, aka Maria Francesca Cabrini to consider the similarities and differences between immigration from Asia and from Europe during this historical era.

Themes

ACTIVISM AND SOCIAL CHANGE; AMERICAN IDENTITY AND CITIZENSHIP

New-York Historical Society Curriculum Library Connections

Source Notes