Exclusion of Chinese Americans in History
The years between 1850 and 1880 marked a huge difference in the way Chinese immigrants were treated in California. Numerous economic transformations occurred during these years, changing the way white Californians, specifically Nativists, felt towards the Chinese. This was the beginning of what became a history of exclusion of Chinese immigrants in California that had many long-term consequences for the Chinese. Starting in the 1850's Chinese immigrants came to California in large numbers. They were not so much accepted as tolerated, treated as mysterious foreigners, an "Oriental", rather than a threat. But by the 1870's, with the depression of 1873 and the rise of mechanization, Nativists and other working-class whites began to view the Chinese as a serious threat to their economic stability. By the 1870's, capitalists were attempting to rationalize and reduce the cost of production (Lee 54). These same capitalists began to view immigrants as a good, relatively free source of labor. With mechanization came the ability to train almost anyone, immigrants, women and children, on the use of these machines. T
These Chinese laborers were kept from becoming independent producers and therefore participants in civic life (Lee 59). These same immigrants were also kept from any type of protection by United States law. They were, in effect, strangers in their own country. Because they were kept from really becoming successful, few Chinese immigrants were allowed to bring their wives and families over to California. This not only kept their morale low, they could not pool resources or even procreate. This was another attempt by Nativists to rid California of the Chinese. his took power away from the white man. These white men became increasingly threatened by immigrant labor, specifically the Chinese. While it is true that he Irish were also used as unskilled laborers, by their very "whiteness", they were not viewed as the same threat as the "brown-skinned" Chinese. The use of the Irish and Italian, as well as the Chinese immigrants as strikebreakers became commonplace in the 1870's (Lee 55). Even though the Irish and Italians were used, once again the Chinese became the focus of the anti-immigrant sentiment. Many of
Some common words found in the essay are:
Asian Americans, Chinese Starting, America Chinese, Chinese Nativists, Pacific Coast, War II, California Numerous, Eastern United, , chinese immigrants, Senator Cowan, asian americans, immigrants california, kept becoming, economic transformations, chinese immigrants california,
Approximate Word count = 758
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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