Immigration: 3. Chinese


The next group to be discriminated and distrusted was the Chinese. They came over to join the western gold rush. They worked on the railroad, in agriculture and in factories. They were stereotyped as heathen and unassimilable. 

Chinese Immigration 

Two opium wars with the British lasting from (1839 to 1860) left many Chinese people in immense debt; this and drought and floods sent many unemployed farmers to start new lives in the Americas. The first significant Chinese immigration to America began with the California Gold Rush and it continued with subsequent large labor projects, such as the building of the first transcontinental railroad. During the early stages of the gold rush, when surface gold was plentiful, the Chinese were tolerated by white people, if not well received as cheap labor. However, as gold became harder to find and competition increased, animosity toward the Chinese and other foreigners increased.

The Chinese were seen as an alien people, too different, non-Christian and stealing white jobs. The Chinese immigrated across the Pacific, settling on the East Coast of the United States, California, Washington and Oregon. The oldest Chinatown in the United States was founded in San Francisco in the 1850’s.

Chinese Americans were frequently discriminated and mistreated. Anti-Chinese riots took place in Tacoma and Seattle. In 1871, a policeman was killed by a Chinese man in the LA Chinatown. Unfounded rumor spread that the Chinese were killing all the white people they could find. In response, a mob of 500 people stormed into Chinatown attacking any Chinese that they could find. By the end of the day, 19 Chinese were dead in the streets. Nobody was ever convicted.

The prejudice against the Chinese became so powerful that politicians in the United States Government wanted to get rid of them. Their plan was to introduce a new bill to exclude Chinese people from American life. These laws attempted to stop all Chinese immigration into the United States with exceptions for diplomats, teachers, students, merchants, and travelers.

Chinese Response to Ban

A Chinese Student in New York had this to say…

“Seeing that the heading is an appeal to American citizens, to their love of country and liberty, I feel my countrymen, and myself, are honored in being thus appealed to, as citizens in the cause of liberty. But the word liberty makes me think of the fact that this country is a land of liberty for men of all nations, except the Chinese. I consider it an insult to us Chinese to call on us to contribute towards building, in this land, a pedestal for a statue of liberty. That statue represents Liberty holding a torch, which lights the passage of those of all nations who come into this country. But are Chinese allowed to come? As for the Chinese who are here, are they allowed to enjoy liberty as men of all other nationalities enjoy it? Are they allowed to go about everywhere free from insults, abuse, assaults, wrongs and injuries from which men of other nationalities are free?”

Story on Page 189 of Multicultural America 

Modern Day

In modern America, Chinese and Asian Americans are much more accepted. American Chinese culture has integrated its way into American culture. Fortune cookies are a uniquely American invention, invented by a Japanese American in San Francisco and adopted by the nearby Chinatown, it’s now a staple of every Chinese American meal.

General Tso’s Chicken is also American invented. Two Chinese American men argue over who invented it, both own restaurants in New York City. Orange chicken was invented by the founder of Panda Express who is Chinese American. Egg Rolls were invented in New York City. Chinese immigrants figured out that spring rolls might be more popular if they were deep fried. Crab Rangoon was invented in Los Angeles, California. 

https://youtu.be/K_8_ZwGbSMU?si=P_sEErWMeKFUmQ9f - Jewish People and Chinese Food

https://youtu.be/4aULfmJjKS8?si=LaCRkq4JmHCHftil

https://youtu.be/4aULfmJjKS8?si=1Y-bKdHltmfiQor5

https://youtu.be/AWXoPrGAQMk?si=LrbSMn2goZ9_RF3y

Despite the general acceptance of Chinese Americans, there are still some who spread fear.

“They’re coming in from China — 31, 32,000 over the last few months — and they’re all military age and they mostly are men,” Trump said during a campaign rally last month in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania. “And it sounds like to me, are they trying to build a little army in our country? Is that what they’re trying to do?” – Donald Trump 2024

Shanghai Noon

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mansa Musa & Ibn Battuta 1280-1368

Image
Salt and copper Crossing the desert, paying a horseman from the destination to meet you The Sahara Egypt was always a prosperous cross-road between three continents. At a time, the Kingdom of Carthage in modern day Tunisia & Libya was the biggest rival to the Roman Empire. the Moors of modern-day Morocco had conquered half of Spain until being forced out in the 14 th  century, and the great Christian philosopher Augustine of Hippo (St Augustine named after) was a member of the Berber people from modern-day Algeria during the last days of the Roman Empire. However, these lands all bordered the Sahara Desert. The largest hot desert in the world. Covering almost 6 million square miles, it’s the size of China and the US combined. Alone it makes up 8% of the earths land mass. It receives less than an inch of rain each year, has a highest recorded temperature of 136 Fahrenheit and an average annual temperature of 86. (Florida is 72) Meanwhile, at night it drops to 21 degrees
Read more

Thomas Paine

Image
Thomas Paine was born in Thetford, Norfolk, England. Early in his life he suffered the loss of his wife, his child, and his business. He took a job as a tax collector and ended up writing pamphlets advocating for pay rises for tax collectors. He became relatively well known and ended up meeting Benjamin Franklin who had been living in London for a number of years. When Franklin returned to Philadelphia in 1775 he invited Paine to join him. With the American revolution in full swing, Paine latched on to their cause and became very passionate about it. He wrote Common Sense anonymously and it became hugely popular. It was sold and distributed widely and read aloud at taverns and meeting places. In proportion to the population of the colonies at that time (2.5 million), it had the largest sale and circulation of any book published in American history. It was rumored that John Adam's had wrote it but in a private letter to his wife Abigail, he admitted that he had not and
Read more

Immigration: 2. Jewish

Image
Prejudice Passed On As Irish and Italian immigrants became more accepted in America, they feared the next groups of immigrants; the Jewish and the Chinese.  Jewish Life in Russia - A Different Mirror- page 263 Many people in America were prejudiced against Jewish people. Their religion was different to the Christianity of the Catholics and Protestants. They dressed differently and spoke differently. Some believed Jewish people were secretly trying to take over the USA and spread harmful ideas such as communism.  Henry Ford Henry Ford's father was born in Ireland. However, he wrote of "The International Jew: the Foremost Problem" and believed that the Jews wanted to take over the world.  https://youtu.be/FXBGK3OQIi8?si=NfZ4eiU9O96PNooK Father Couglin  Father Couglin was a Catholic priest who became hugely popular on American radio when radio was first invented. Both of Father Couglin's parents had Immigrated from Ireland and faced discrimination. However, n
Read more