Chinese Workers In Pacific Northwest Essay

Back in the 19th century, the railroad companies started building railwas in the Pacific Northwest region, and it provided opportunities for immigrant to come to the United States and fulfill their own American dreams. The railroad companies’ representatives went to China for the recruitment, and many Chinese were attracted to working in the United States by the hope of bringing affluent back home. Soon, the Chinese came to the United States crew by crew, and the massive Chinese workforce increased the Asian population in the Pacific Northwest in a few years. The immense Chinese workforce became one of the essential human resources for establishing the railroads in the Pacific Northwest, and the railroad companies boosted the region's economy. Despite the fact that the railroad companies raised the economy in the Pacific Northwest, the Chinese labors suffered from financial hardships, health issues, and inequalities when they were doing laborious works .
The Chinese came to the United States for opportunities, thus they could bring affluence when they return back to their homes. Referring back to the 19th century of China, Qing dynasty, those who had private business or worked for the
government were affluent. Under that circumstance, the higher social class created a gap between rich and poor, so lower class people were seeking opportunities to make their lives better. When the railroad companies came to recruit, many Chinese men decided to come to the United States and “search[ed] of a ‘better life, for new prosperity’” (Chiu & Kirk 2014, 508). Many Chinese men left their families behind, and they basically came with their empty hands.
Initially, the labors started working without any support, and they tried to get settlements. The Chinese labors did not have enough financial support from building the railways, so they could not even establish a new life in the United States. According to Salem Public Library (2006), the labors’ incomes were splitted into “1/3 to go to the central Chinese government, 1/3 to the immigrant’s tong and 1/3 for return of the immigrants ashes to his homeland.” Moreover, the Chinese labors got paid far less than any other workers in railroad companies (Schwantes 1997, 175) The Chinese received low wages, and they could not go back to their home. As they came with empty hands, the only way to go back to China was to keep working for railroad companies or other laborious work.
Under the extreme difficult working environment, the Chinese determined to earn more wages by rebelling to the railroad companies.
The Chinese were facing financial challenges, and they were trapped in the Pacific Northwest by the labor. The Chinese “sued the Seattle and Walla Walla Railroad” (Wunder 1983, 195) after they continuously worked without getting any wage. The Chinese would not get back to work unless they assured their wages by having an agreement with the railroad companies (196). The Chinese went to the court with the railroad company to negotiate the compensation, and the railroad company had to provide acceptable compensation to get the Chinese back to work. Ultimately, the Chinese labors got a fixed wages even though the wages were still low compared to
Caucasians.
Beside facing financial hardships, the Chinese labor started having health issues since they had done numerous laborious works. In order to survive in the Pacific Northwest, many Chinese men also worked for mining around Oregon, and their lack of understanding of mining causes the men got sick. The mining industry in the Pacific Northwest offered jobs for the Chinese, but the jobs included exposing to heavy metal. Supposedly, the heavy metal had strong poison or some health implication, and the Chinese labors took the jobs without any medical protection or specialist (Liestman 1999, 21). As a result, some Chinese men were suffering from lung diseases after digging the mine for months. Meanwhile, some Chinese decided to farm and grow their own food for health purpose in the Pacific Northwest, and the surplus became a medical source for the Chinese. The Chinese labors did not enough support, so they had to depend on each other. The Chinese relied on farming because farming is a method for growing herbs to cure illness. They began to grow “fruits and vegetable, smaller terraced sites supported herbs and other medicinal plants” (23).
Even though the Chinese planted herbs to ensure their health care, the Chinese labors were dealing with the addiction to opium. Opium had been popular in China because it was introduced by the British, and the Opium market expended to the Pacific Northwest (Salem Public Library 2006). The effect of smoking opium was weakening the lung performance for the Chinese men.
Beyond having financial hardship and health issues, the Chinese were getting inequality from the white people. The inequalities made their lives hard as immigrants and laborers. Back in the 19th century, immigrants did not have the same citizen rights as the Americans. When the Chinese tried to be independent and live in the Pacific Northwest, they “were not allowed to vote or own land or mining claims” (Salem Public Library 2006) Although they did not have the right to acquire their own properties, some of them had to be farm labors or do railway, laundry, and restaurant in order to have settlements or shelters.
Moreover, the American wanted to deport the Chinese from the Pacific Northwest due to the inequalities between Americans and immigrants. The inequalities constructed a social gap between Americans and immigrants, and the Chinese were recognized as people who have low quality of life. “The Chelan Falls Leader editorialized on August 13, 1981: ‘We have no objection to the Chinese - in China.... He is so full of leprosy and opium, he is so altogether undesirable that we have no use for him ... There will never be any room in Okanogan County and especially Chelan Falls for Chinese. The Chinese must go. Paste that in your hat’” (Dietrich 1995, 241). The American pretended that the Chinese were no different than the Americans, yet they used the Chinese addiction to opium as a problem which could not be ignored. Ironically, The Chinese did not earn anything valuable from the Americans expect ignorants, and the ignorants were what made the Chinese isolated in the Pacific Northwest. Even the public press in the late 19th century Oregon eliminated the Chinese labors’ voice by avoiding them. (Chiu & Kirk 2014, 513). The Chinese men were one of the largest population in the Pacific Northwest, and they unfortunately became minority due to lack of authority support.
Ultimately, the Chinese men did not fulfill their American dreams after they experienced numerous laborious tasks and encountered financial, medical, and human right challenges. They persistently built the railways for railroad companies, and their efforts helped the Pacific Northwest to build a solid infrastructure for the economic boost in the 19th century. Due to the labor system, the Chinese did not receive reasonable wages and some got ill from arduous work. Even though they did not gain support from other, they leaned on each other and tried to settle in the Pacific Northwest. Their understanding about agriculture helped them store surplus, and the farming also produced herbs provided simple medical protection. However, they got addicted to opium when the British expanded the market the region, and the addiction to opium weakened lung performance for the Chinese. As mentioned, the Chinese were under the labor system, so they did not have equal citizen rights like Americans. The Americans blamed the Chinese for using Opium, and they tried to deport the Chinese back home since the Chinese men had came here for decades. The project of building the railway was successful to raise the Pacific Northwest economy, but the Chinese labors dedicated their lives to chased the false American dream.