Opium War Dbq

(128)This history of Asian-American education in the United States stems from the issue of immigrant alienation that many Asians, such as the Chinese, endured due to white Anglo-American xenophobia. In American history, the building of the railroads defines the massive influx of Chinese labor, which caused labor disputes with Anglo-American “nativist” workers in the late 19th century. Due to the massive influx of Chinese labor, the U.S. government eventually led to the restriction of immigration through the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which was continually renewed well into the 20th

Around the mid 1800’s we started to see the movement of the Chinese immigrants in the pacific-coast of the united states, more specifically in California. They laid railroad tracks in the west coast and also serviced in mining during the California gold rush. You start to see the success of the Chinese immigrants which encouraged the poor Chinese to come to America. The Chinese started to spread and settle in Oregon as well as in Washington in the 1860’s providing labor for the state’s mines and salmon canneries and also setting up the Northern Pacific Railroad which connected Lake Superior to Tacoma, Washington and also helped build the Seattle to Newcastle railroad.(cite #2) These immigrants were very industrious, willing to work long hours

• A​t first Chinese immigrants were welcomed in California. But what caused the political climate to turn against the Chinese? A​mericans started to see the Chinese (along with other immigrants like the French, Mexican, Chilean, ect) as competition for discovering gold in the gold fields. Americans felt that since gold was found on American soil, whoever should find gold and have any access to it should be an American and not a foreigner. They felt that they would take whatever measure they had to to prevent any foreigners from finding any and striking it rich. They also claimed that since so many Asian immigrants were working as laborers but didn’t actually want to be American citizens, it was discouraging Americans from different states from coming to California in search of gold.

For centuries, America has been created, formed, and shaped through the ideas, cultures, and beliefs of other countries that are brought to America through immigration. Some say that immigration is something that is necessary for American development and improvement. Each different culture, religion, and group that migrates to America has affected the country in its own unique way. One culture that greatly affected the lives of those living in America in the 1800’s was the Chinese. For many different reasons, thousands of Chinese found themselves immigrating to America, causing the population of their culture to grow rapidly.

For decades, Chinese people in America have faced discrimination and hostility. The Chinese was initially brought over by the cheap labor of building railroads and the Gold Rush in California. But in the 1870s, the competition for jobs and depression led to racism and hatred for them. Almost every Chinese person have been segregated in Chinatowns. Eventually, the Chinese Exclusion Act ended Chinese immigration. However, it all changed during World War II when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. The United States and China became allies and declared war on Japan. So the Chinese in America got an opportunity to expand their economic and social influence. Furthermore, Americans changed their point of view about the Chinese Americans due to the alliance

During the 18th to 20th century, the Chinese people faced many obstacles. Many would come in to America seeking education, work, and to get away from the famine. When they came, there got more than they bargained for. Abundant of Chinese immigrants came to American in three different time periods. They first came in 1849-1882 when they heard of the gold being found in California. The second wave of Chinese immigrants came in 1882-1965. And the last one would be in 1965 to now, present day.

As immigration settled they had to limit the amount of immigrants coming into the United States. They passed two laws the Chinese Exclusion Act and State Tenement House Act. The State Tenement House Act helped new buildings to have better ventilation and running water. This benefited the immigrants. However, the Chinese Exclusion Act banned Chinese people from immigrating to the United States for ten years. They did this because about 105,000 Chinese people were living in America and Americans felt threatened by their work. These are examples

Evidently, the whites disregarded the Chinese immigrants. Gradually, the Chinese migrants were segregated away from the whites’ society. Moreover, the whites’ effort led to an enforcement of Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, which restricted the Chinese immigration. Additionally, the California government imposed unjust taxation on Chinese migrants. Now, the Chinese nowhere to escape, because the Chinese migrants had their faith trapped within America’s boundaries. Therefore, the segregated Chinese migrants developed a strong community, called Chinatowns, where they set up their own businesses, opened fishing

Lastly, the Chinese faced many discriminatory factors as more and more immigrants moved into America for a chance at becoming rich. They first began immigrating into California in large numbers around 1820. By 1849, a large gold rush was underway in Western United States. More Chinese began to come to the Americas in order to get in on the action and become a part of the new get-rich-quick movement. By 1880, there were more than 100,000 Chinese immigrants and they formed more than one-tenth of California’s population. Many American citizens were disturbed and dismayed that the Chinese seemed to be “taking over” their land, profiting and gaining from it. During this time, the immigrants faced extreme racial prejudice until finally in 1885 the Chinese Exclusion Act was put into effect. This stated that no more Chinese immigrants were to be

In the 19th century, there was a great influx of Chinese citizens into the United States to work in the goldmine, agricultural plantations, and in different factories. The Chinese population grew significantly in the US, and this brought resulted to pressure among the non-Chinese workers (Blumenfield, 2013). There were also claims that there were a

In the earlier years of the Asian American history, the Gold Rush was what led many Chinese to come to the U.S. They came in hopes to find their wealth and fortune. Once they did they would return to their country with their wealth and fortune. Although many Chinese also came Hawaii to work in the sugarcane plantations. Many worked as small merchants, housekeepers, farmers, grocers, and even as railroad workers on the famous Transcontinental Railroad project. (Le, 2017) From 1882 to 1943 the United States Government severely cut the immigration from China to the United States. The government was concerned about the large numbers of Chinese who had come to the United States. It was caused a raise in competition with American workers. This began the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.This law suspended the immigration of Chinese laborers for 10 years. Although it did allow the Chinese that were already in the U.S as of November 17, 1880, to stay, travel abroad and even return. The law prohibited the naturalization of Chinese. (Chinese Immigration and the Chinese in the

The first period of Chinese immigration came significantly after the California gold rush in 1849. However, due to China’s instability in the country after the opium wars, many push and pull factors presented the gold rush as an economic opportunity for many Chinese inhabitants. The opening of trade in china relentlessly spread the economy thin ultimately shattering the Chinese financial system. In addition, Chinese industries became less profitable as silk and tea became in demand. Ideally, many farmers transitioned from producing food to now developing profitable resources: silk and tea. In the end, this only led to more misfortune as starvation and poverty remained throughout the land. Nevertheless, the opium wars disrupted the infrastructure

In 1842, at the conclusion of the Opium War, China was forced to accept a series of pacts from Great Britain called the Treaty of Nanjing. This treaty opened five Chinese trading ports, urged the Qing government to give up their status as the most favored nation, and allotted extraterritoriality to the British. China no longer had any power, and the West was not obligated to follow Chinese laws. Despite the Chinese laws regarding the sale of Opium, England legalized opium trade in Britain and restricting the Chinese from taxing it (Opium Wars PPT). China continued to weaken just as much as their judicial authority. By 1900, foreign powers had control of Chinese ports, and foreign merchants controlled the Chinese economy due to the unequal treaties. Since Britain had taken much of the China’s power, Christian missioners were able to find Chinese converts throughout the country (Traditions & Encounters 736). Not only was Great Britain able to confine the Qing government, but they also overpowered China’s military, leaving the Chinese to fight with all their will to preserve their land and

In today’s world it is difficult to believe that once in America Chinese were considered heathens and subjected to widespread persecution and violence. In the 19th century, many people considered the Chinese to be unassimilable and therefore unacceptable, their eventual exclusion from America in 1882. They came for the gold to get rich and live a good life. When the gold was gone they came for the work but after awhile they weren't welcome and did not get a lot of pay or work in terrible conditions or work at all. The chinese were treated terribly and did not deserve that. The chinese came for gold in america, the for work in america for a new start, then they got verbally harassed and physically.

Chinese immigration is a current topic many scholars are talking about in research of finding patterns and transformations among Chinese migration. Prior to World War II, Chinese migration was strictly regulated and deeply connoted negative feelings against Chinese immigrants, yet it did not influx the United States until the early 1880’s with the passing of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882. Chinese migration is particularly important, because unlike European immigrants that travelled with families, Chinese immigrants travelled alone resulting in the creating of bachelor societies, or Chinatowns. After the U.S. initiated the quota system. Chinese migration took a complete turn, and instead of having laborer migrate, it was the professionals and students who sought migration to the U.S. That being said, Chinese immigrants have faced constant discrimination and selectivity in their efforts to migrate to the U.S.