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The History of Chinese Immigration to the U.S.

by Leo Luo


This summary is about the history of Chinese immigration to the US. I   have three questions about this topic. When did Chinese immigrants begin to come to US? Why did they come to US? And what kinds of jobs did those Chinese immigrants have in the US?

When did Chinese immigrants begin to come to the US? Chinese immigration can be divided into three periods: 1849-1882, 1882-1965, and 1965 to the present. The first period began shortly after the California Gold Rush and ended abruptly with the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.  

Next, why did Chinese immigrants come to the US? First of all, they arrived in America looking to strike it rich with hopes of being to send money back to their poor families, or of returning to China after a few years with newly acquired wealth. Another reason is America served as a symbol of something higher than monetary prosperity. It represented the hope of freedom from intolerance based upon one's particular views. However, the most important reason for Chinese immigration was economic hardship due to the growing British dominance over China after Britain defeated China in the Opium War of 1839-1842. So, these are three reasons why the Chinese people came to the US.

The last question is what kinds of the jobs did those Chinese immigrants do in the US, Chinese immigrants in the late 19th century faced many hardships that had a profound effect on America. Primarily, the Chinese supplied labor for America's growing industry. Chinese factory workers were important in California, especially during the Civil War. They worked in wool mills, and cigar, shoe, and garment industries; twenty-five occupations in all. Chinese were also the first to stake claims in California gold fields prompting many to relocate to the west. With the gold rush, the Chinese were prompted to exploit other western state resources, providing products of use to the American society. The Chinese began the era of railroad building. The Central Pacific Railroad Company employed about 15,000 Chinese to construct the Transcontinental Railroad. In addition to prospecting for gold in California, many Chinese also came as contract laborers to Hawai'i to work in sugarcane plantations. The Chinese also worked as small time merchants, gardeners, domestics, laundry workers, farmers, and starting in 1865.

In conclusion, three reasons why the Chinese immigrants wanted to come to the US because they were poor and they wanted to make more money to send back to their poor families. Most importantly, Chinese faced economic hardships in China.

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