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European colonization in North America
Chinese immigration in America
Chinese immigration in America
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During the early 1850s to late 1990s, the United States experienced an enormous rush of Asian immigration from various countries such as China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. For most of these immigrants, they traveled far and wide on dangerous journeys out at sea and away from their homeland of origin in order to escape the horrors of tyranny, discover wealth during the California gold rush, and create new opportunities of a better life for their families and future descendants. Countless bodies were lost at sea and many more of these immigrants died from starvation and disease. Although these Asian immigrants were overjoyed when they reached the main lands of the United States, their struggles were only beginning as many of them were not met with open arms of acceptance. Instead, most of these Asian immigrants were met with harsh racism, various amounts of mistreatment, and unpleasant living conditions from many Americans. In spite of all these hindrances, most Asian immigrants were able to adapt to their new environment, find occupations despite the undercut wages, and build homes for their families. (something here) . After a while, these Asian immigrants were able to learn English and understand the protocols of the United States judicial system in order to change certain laws which discriminated them. Even though some may group Asians into one large category, the fact of the matter is that there are many distinct ethnic backgrounds with different histories and methodology of persevering through hardships in order to reach the blissful freedom of the United States. The Chinese immigrants were the pioneers out of all the other Asian immigrants that traveled across the Pacific Ocean to reach the United States. Initially at the star... ... middle of paper ... ...an Life. New York: Perennial, 2002. Print. Hing, Bill Ong. Making and Remaking Asian America through Immigration Policy, 1850-1990. Stanford, CA: Stanford UP, 1993. Print. Kil, Sang Hea. "Fearing Yellow, Imagining White: Media Analysis Of The Chinese Exclusion Act Of 1882." Social Identities 18.6 (2012): 663-677. Academic Search Premier. Web. 13 May 2014. Schmidt, Ronald. Newcomers, Outsiders, & Insiders: Immigrants and American Racial Politics in the Early Twenty-first Century. Ann Arbor: U of Michigan, 2010. Print. The Library of Congress. "Hawaii: Life in a Plantation Society." Japanese Immigration. The Library of Congress, n.d. Web. 13 May 2014. The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. "Chinese Exclusion Laws- Background." National Archives and Records Administration. National Archives and Records Administration, n.d. Web. 13 May 2014.
One particular ethnic group that suffered severe discrimination was the Chinese people. They first came to America for several reasons. One of them was the gold rush in California in 1849, in which they were included in a group of immigrants called the “Forty-Niners” (179). From gold mining, they switched to other jobs with resulted in the rise of anti-Chinese sentiments. People felt that Chinese people were taking the jobs away from them, because Chinese people worked for much smaller salaries that businesses preferred. This mindset gave way to the creation of The Chinese Exclusion Act passed in 1882, which prohibits more Chinese immigrants from coming to America. In addition, the act states “no State or court of the United States shall admit Chinese to citizenship”. Like the Naturalization Act, the Chinese Exclusion Act was created to hinder Chinese people from becoming citizens so that America could remain homogenously white (186). It also aimed to stop Chinese people from establishing a bigger community in the country in hopes of eliminating the threat of competition to their white counterparts (186). Like African-Americans, Chinese people were considered racially inferior and have struggled to prove that they were worthy to be called true Americans, rather than
The first Chinese immigrants to arrive in America came in the early 1800s. Chinese sailors visited New York City in the 1830s (“The Chinese Experience”); others came as servants to Europeans (“Chinese Americans”). However, these immigrants were few in number, and usually didn’t even st...
The English immigrants are given a brief introduction as the first ethnic group to settle in America. The group has defined the culture and society throughout centuries of American history. The African Americans are viewed as a minority group that were introduced into the country as slaves. The author depicts the struggle endured by African Americans with special emphasis on the Civil War and the Civil Rights movement. The entry of Asian Americans evoked suspicion from other ethnic groups that started with the settlement of the Chinese. The Asian community faced several challenges such as the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, and the mistreatment of Americans of Japanese origin during World War II. The Chicanos were the largest group of Hispanic peoples to settle in the United States. They were perceived as a minority group. Initially they were inhabitants of Mexico, but after the Westward expansion found themselves being foreigners in their native land (...
The Asian-Americans settlement patterns were shaped by many decades of economic and social development in the United States. Since the Asian-American group is so large, it is often discussed in different ethnic subgroups. These various ethnic groups have many faced different struggles upon settling in America. Some of these struggles include significant racial discrimination in the workplace, low wages, and harassment, and violence. Despite the differences, most of these immigrants were drawn to America for better career and educational opportunities. Nevertheless, these immigrants have made numerous sacrifices, such as leaving their homeland in order to provide the best support for themselves and their family. The differences in settlement patterns over time can be seen through the ethnic groups: Chinese Americans, Filipino Americans, and Japanese
On February 27, 1877 a joint special committee of the Senate and House of Representatives was appointed to investigate Chinese immigration. The arguments against Chinese immigration, presented in paragraph two of the report are that they “live in filthy dwelling”, do not follow proper nutritional standards, have no concern for health of fire safety, and that their “vices are corrupting the morals of the city.” There was a belief that the Chinese were monopolizing “industrial pursuits” and this led to lower wages for workers. “Doubtful means of support” in reference to Chinese women could mean that when these women were unable to find “normal” work they were forced into a darker industry such as sex work.
Before arriving anywhere near the United States, the Chinese people first spread across the Pacific Ocean, as seafarers. Starting between Acapulco and Manila, some made their way as far as Mexico City, during the 17th Century. And while it wasn’t on the mainland, the Chinese finally entered what would become part of the United States eventually on the island-state known as Hawaii. Finally, the first three recorded arrivals of the Chinese made it to Baltimore, in 1785. Their names were Ashing, Aceun, and Achun. This was only the beginning. The number of Chinese immigrants to America would only explode in the 1850s. (Tong 1)
With the establishment of the Burlingame-Seward Treaty in 1868, friendly relations between America and China were initiated and immigration to America was highly encouraged. In spite of the fact that their cheap labor was initially welcomed, they were soon seen as job stealers. Countless were able to make the journey by borrowing money so once they arrived, they had to work to pay off their creditors. Their low pay made them desirable to employers and caused tension with the White laborers. The Anti-Coolie Act of 1862 was eventually passed in hopes of less Chinese being able to pay the special tax so that more of the work could go to White workers. The Chinese coolies in document 3 are all seen wearing traditional hats to protect themselves
Within the United States, the attitude towards Asian American immigrants have changed from being seen as a menace to society to becoming praised as the model minority. Under the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965, the United States was looking to accept model immigrants by prioritizing those with higher education and desirable skills for the workforce. This immigration policy caused an influx of middle to upper class Asian immigrants to come to the United States, which is the root for the model minority stereotype that is attached to the Asian American community. Yet, the idea of being the model minority does not extend to all Asian immigrants especially those who came to the United States seeking refuge from various conflicts such as the Vietnam War. Thus, the model minority myth is damaging for the Asian American community because it ignores those who do not fits this stereotype which is reflected in Erika Lee’s book, The Making of Asia America, and the film Children of Invention.
This discrimination initially began with the Naturalization Act of 1790, allowing free white-men of “good character” naturalization while excluding Native Americans, indentured servants, free Blacks, and Asians. In addition to extreme acts, the Chinese Exclusion Act, signed in 1882, had prohibited the Chinese from entering our country. Another example of the racism Asian-Americans faced occurred during World War II due to the war’s propaganda and the slurs that came about as a result of the war. The historical background of Asian-Americans and racism not only left scarring tendencies, but managed to transcend into modern society within a lower degree.
The arrival of immigrants to the United States is often associated with fear. Immigrants are vulnerable to attacks if they are cast as threats to the way of American life. A deeper look into immigration policies reveals that immigrant restrictions are seated in racialized notions. Immigrants before the founding of the nation came for the opportunities of a better life. The immigrants who would continue to come thereafter came for much the same reasons. But government policies demonstrate repeated attempts to block the immigration of undesirable immigrant communities.
into America to get rich quick. A young man in Canton wrote to his brother in
There were many reasons for the Chinese to come to America. Overcrowding, poverty, war, and other catastrophes in China were all reasons (push) for traveling to America, as well as effective external influences. The discovery of gold was a major pull for Chinese peasants in coming to the West Coast. America's labor needs were the most important external catalyst for immigration. However, there were very few ways of traveling to the United States. With loans from the Six Companies, Chinese were able to afford fare to America, and they traveled here to work primarily as gold miners, fishermen, or agricultural workers; later settling into laundry services and restaurant work (Tsai, China overseas 12-13).
The Chinese immigrants started flooding in through the West coast to California around the time of the Gold Rush, looking for economic opportunity. With the Chinese immigrants came a whole new cultural group and a whole lot of laborers that were eager to work. The Chinese quickly became involved in all kinds of labor from gold mining and building railroads to agriculture and fishing skills. The new Asian population just kept growing and growing as immigrants spread word of their good fortune in California and swayed more and more of their family to come over to the states. With their growing population they created their own large communities and the first ever Chinatown ...
You will be reading about the immigration between the United States of America and China. The 2nd paragraph is about China’s immigration. The 3rd is about the us’s immigration. The 4th paragraph is about the conclusion.
Most immigrants moved to the United States also to find better paying jobs. Also they came because the laws are better and fairer in the United States then in china. Some resettled to the U.S to start a family or went there to be with their family that might have already been in the U.S. The outflow of more than 10 million teals of silver in 1848 intensified the copper-silver exchange rate problem. The influx of foreign goods caused the people to go broke.Many Chinese women also came to America to marry Chinese merchants who had settled in America. The women, however, were first raised in China, and then brought over to the US when they were ready to marry. This practice stemmed the belief that it was safer and cheaper this way. After all, the anti-Chinese sentiment on the West Coast was increasing and as it was, many Chinese in the US had financial difficulties. However, not all...