The americans prejudice led to Chinese expulsion act. The americans think the Chinese people were weird.The americans think that the Chinese wouldn’t share some of the gold for the american.In they thought the Chinese people will take all of the gold back to china. The americas think the mean because the are not helping the U.S.A.…
Charles Crocker, an American railroad executive, hired Chinese people willing to labor for money, because he was desperate for workers. The Chinese…
Before the Spaniards moved to the Americas, the Indians used their prisoners of war as slaves and the elite class were their government officials and the military high officials. However, once the Spaniards took over, their social rankings sunk and they became the slaves. They were treated poorly, shown in many art forms shown in (doc 6) like engravings and water colors , which was a new form of media, by artists such as Jacques Le Moyne and their only use to the Spaniards was to provide them with silver and sugar, which they mined and grew on their home front, destroying the beauty and rising deforestation. Social changes also occurred in China due to their rising incomes because of the increase of foreign trade, because of its ban in 1626, stated by He Qiaoyuan, a Ming official (doc 4). The power of the merchants’ was originally low due to Confucian views, which led the whole country to believe that merchants were bad, but in reality, they could provide a boost in China’s economy. According to Wang Xijue, another Ming official, silver was required to keep the country’s economy steady (doc 1), which was possible with with the increase of merchants and their ability to make money with foreign…
One challenge that the immigrants face in this story is that they are thought of as inferior by Americans, or "demons" as they have begun to refer to them. Demons are not accepting of differences; therefore the Chinese are looked down upon, and don't get equal rights and privileges. For example, Moon Shadow's grandmother tells him that his father traveled to America to work as a laundryman before he was born. She tells Moon Shadow that gold, in the Land of the Golden Mountain, is everywhere and men can scoop it up by the bucket-full. When he asks why his father does not get enough gold to return home, his grandmother replies, "Demons roam the mountain up and down and they beat up any of our men who try to get the gold" (6). She mentions that they are allowed to take only a small pinch of it, and only if they do all of the hard, grueling labor that they are told to do. This quote proves that Chinese (Tang) people are belittled. They are forced to work like slaves. Good-paying jobs are very difficult for them to find. They must also be careful when choosing them. Moon Shadow states, "There was plenty of money to be made among the demons, but it was also dangerous" (1). This states that though there are many job opportunities in America, the lives of Chinese people are sometimes put at risk. This would almost certainly not have…
These Chinese emigrants later on proved to be more useful than expected since they would construct the railroad in fewer years than expected (Konrad 1). According to Strobridge, Chinese workers started to become very popular since they learned quickly, didn’t fight, had no strikes that amounted to anything and are very cleanly in their habits (1869, cited in Doolittle 1). They started to become a popular choice since they became if not more, as efficient as the white Caucasian workers the railroad companies…
Also they created many job opportunities by creating vineyards for agriculture, trenches, establishment of manufactures, in which it provided more employment for those whites of higher class. The Chinese were welcomed at moment in time, until America went into an economic depression in 1873, and the jobs became decreasing, so in result the anti-Chinese organization did not want them at all. It all resulted in the establishment of the Chinese Exclusion Acts and the extensions of them, so they could get deported back to China, and the only way the Chinese could prevent that from happening was to obtain a certificate of proof to be allowed in America. However, only the Chinese whom were from the higher class: such as teachers, students, travelers, etc. had the opportunity to do so, but still it was a difficult task to obtain through the Chinese Government. It appeared to be that the ultimate decision in regard of the acts was not economical as the Congress would state, but it was more of racist factorial; although, the economic factors sure did play part, because from the exclusion of the Chinese decreased in the capital that masters and employers would receive when the Chinese provided cheap labor. “But even if the Chinese are prohibited from becoming a part of our body of citizens, it would be both impossible and unkind, at this time when China is looking to the United States for help and guidance in the formation of the new republic, to prevent the Chinese from coming to our country to travel and study and learn from us.” (WELLBORN,…
A Legacy of Perseverance The dawn of 1858 marked the beginning of continuing Chinese immigration from their native country to the expanses of British North America that would soon form the current Canada. The initial wave of Chinese settler to settle in Canada were inspired by various pull and push factors. Negative factors pushed the Chinese people away from their native homes while foreign forces pulled them towards another country. The push factors, like wars and floods in China, made it extremely difficult for people live peaceably, grow crops, or raise families.…
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…
In approximately 1490, people all around the world began to explore. Of course, there were many reasons why people decided to do so, but pilgrimage and commerce were the two main incentives. (Lecture, 9/3/14). Europeans began to value crusading, but they didn’t yet have the resources to do it consistently. China, on the other hand, traveled all over the world, trying to recruit people to join them in trade and army. They were the biggest producers of important goods that everyone wanted. After a while, the Chinese began cutting down on their expeditions. The Ming started putting their money toward more important things that they thought would benefit their country. They wanted to consolidate territories around them and let go of naval defenses. (Lecture, 9/3/14). Little did the Ming know, Europe was about to take their place in the trading industry. They began going on voyages in search of potential investments. Spain and Portugal even decided to cut out their source of trade so that it’d be cheaper for them. This created something new for the trading business.…
work and to seek a better life. Because the Qing and the U.S. weren’t on bad terms at the time, it was…
The Chinese immigrants did not solely choose to immigrate to the United States because of the financial prosperity that the democratic society offered, but also by the rising social and political tensions that China faced in the 1800s. The decline of imperial China caused the political structure of the government to reshape rapidly and resulted in violence and economic insecurity. The first and second opium wars devastated the people of the Qing Empire as China was regarded as an invincible power before it’s defeat. Because of the loss, many people looked to reform away from China’s traditionalist and anti-modern roots but were prosecuted by the Qing Empress, Cixi. Because of the Empress’s unwillingness to develop modern technologies and reform the Chinese’s tradition ways of life, the society atrophied during the 1800’s and was plagued by defeats with wars against other countries. The sense of nationalism faltered in China and thus many people determined to create better lives elsewhere. The news of gold in California presented a valuable opportunity for those struggling in China and is the reason why the overwhelming majority of the 1849 immigrants were Chinese. 4 The Chinese immigrants overwhelmingly chose California as their new home because of the economic opportunity that it presented itself as. However, the majority of the Chinese immigrants did not view California as a permanent home but rather as a short-term residence that would allow them to acquire enough currency to support a better lifestyle in China. The Chinese managed to learn about the Gold Rush in China through trading vessels that spread the news of the discovery of gold throughout Mainland China. Interestingly, the news spread with just word of the mouth instead of advertisements and most importantly, none of the information were…
Between the years of 1915 and 1960, many African Americans were involved in what is known today as the Great Migration. During this time, about 5 million blacks migrated from the south to the north and the west. During this move African Americans moved to places such as: Chicago, Illinois, Detroit, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, California, Washington and etc. The push factors that influenced African Americans to leave the South was their desire and ambition to overcome the oppressive economic struggle, little opportunities, harsh treatments, and no jobs. The pull factors that influenced the Great Migration were better legal systems, equality in education, a better chance to advance, the opportunity to own land and job opportunities. At…
After the gold was becoming harder to find and competition increased, about half of the Chinese who came to America, returned to their…
Americans had fun, doing activities besides work and having freedom, which meant using that free time to “go wild.” Another problem was that the Chinese people were trying to lay under the radar in America. As Vietnam Memorial architect Maya Lin thought at the age of 21. “I probably spent the first 20 years of my life wanting to be as American as possible.” (Source G) This was how a lot of Chinese immigrants felt. They felt the need to blend in and just go through their life thinking that they need to be as “American” as possible. The point of America is to celebrate the differences in our cultures. The first amendment is the freedom of speech, assembly and religion. In America, you can say what you want to say, do what you want to do and be who you want to be. Although the Chinese immigrants had troubles during the first years of immigration, they felt discriminated against, but the truth is that hey were being just as discriminatory to the whites as the whites were to them. If both sides, the Americans and the Chinese, accept eachother for who they really are and get past prejudices that are baseless, it would be possible to have American circumstances…
Through the decades, hundreds and thousands of immigrants immigrated to the United States. These immigrants sought for better opportunities in life and a second chance to start over. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was passed, not because of the increasing numbers that where entering the United States, but the racism that were boiling in this so called “melting pot” of diversity. Many racial tensions began as Americans saw these Chinese as a threat to their jobs and the economy. During this time the Gold rush was happening in California, which China was in a period of poverty, which lead many Chinese to immigrate to California (Seattle.) Before the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, there was the Page Act of 1875, which denied and restricted many forced laborers coming from Asia. Then, there comes the Immigration Act of 1882, which was a restriction on most “non-desirable” Europeans that limited immigration from certain European region (Immigration Act.) With these two anti-immigration acts placed on the Chinese and some European immigrants, the racism in the United States will only worsen as…