Chinese San Francisco during the late nineteenth century was an entire world contained within a dozen or so square blocks. An 1886 "Official Map of Chinatown" commissioned by the City Board of Supervisors shows a community with all the amenities of a small city: It designates hundreds of dry goods merchants, factories, groceries, restaurants, schools, temples, and entertainment establishments — and these are only those on the ground floor. One notices when examining the map the proliferation of merchant businesses. This large number was an indication of the Chinese merchants' strength and heavy presence within their community, ranging in specialties from perfume to pharmaceuticals, souvenirs to groceries. Their buying and selling formed the backbone of early Chinatown's economy, and their stores served as early meeting places and sites where new immigrants could seek help; much of this aid came in the form of money lending or employment. From this position naturally evolved political leadership: Merchants dominated the benevolent associations that commanded Chinatown's political sphere.

A self-sufficient and insulated community, with its own unique government and politics, early Chinatown was almost a separate city within greater San Francisco. Chinese who came from the same regions in China formed district benevolent associations upon their arrival in the United States. These associations served as social and welfare institutions where immigrants could locate people from their native districts, socialize, receive monetary aid, and raise voices in community affairs. There were also family benevolent associations for people with the same surnames. Residents of Chinatown oftentimes belonged to both types of benevolent associations: one for his district, the other for this extended family.

The Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, more commonly known as the Chinese Six Companies, dominated the political landscape. Originally formed during the 1850s by the Ning Yuen, Hop Wo, Kong Chow, Yeung Wo, Sam Yup, and Yan Wo district associations (the Sue Hing Association was later added at the turn of the century), the Six Companies was the most powerful organization in Chinatown, authorized to speak on behalf of not only Chinese in San Francisco, but everywhere in the United States. Its Board of Directors and Board of Presidents consisted overwhelmingly of wealthy merchants who translated their economic good fortune into political power. It was the Six Companies that dealt with city, state, and national governments regarding issues of immigration and persecution, always retaining a Caucasian attorney to be its spokesman and correspondent with the world at large.