The Discords Of The 1849 Chinese Immigrants In California

The Discords of the 1849 Chinese Immigrants in California

The California Gold Rush was one of most monumental events in the history of the United States. It was responsible for shaping the foundation of the modern class and social system while also creating the first big immigrant trend after the colonial period. The events which followed James W Marshall’s discovery of gold in Coloma, California during the year of 1848 were important not only because of the fact that it generated the expatriation of approximately 300,000 people (who were commonly referred to as the 49er’s to signify their arrival during 1849) to the state of California but also made San Francisco grow from a small settlement of around 200 people to a boomtown
The Chinese immigrants did not solely choose to immigrate to the United States because of the financial prosperity that the democratic society offered, but also by the rising social and political tensions that China faced in the 1800s. The decline of imperial China caused the political structure of the government to reshape rapidly and resulted in violence and economic insecurity. The first and second opium wars devastated the people of the Qing Empire as China was regarded as an invincible power before it’s defeat. Because of the loss, many people looked to reform away from China’s traditionalist and anti-modern roots but were prosecuted by the Qing Empress, Cixi. Because of the Empress’s unwillingness to develop modern technologies and reform the Chinese’s tradition ways of life, the society atrophied during the 1800’s and was plagued by defeats with wars against other countries. The sense of nationalism faltered in China and thus many people determined to create better lives elsewhere. The news of gold in California presented a valuable opportunity for those struggling in China and is the reason why the overwhelming majority of the 1849 immigrants were Chinese. 4 The Chinese immigrants overwhelmingly chose California as their new home because of the economic opportunity that it presented itself as. However, the majority of the Chinese immigrants did not view California as a permanent home but rather as a short-term residence that would allow them to acquire enough currency to support a better lifestyle in China. The Chinese managed to learn about the Gold Rush in China through trading vessels that spread the news of the discovery of gold throughout Mainland China. Interestingly, the news spread with just word of the mouth instead of advertisements and most importantly, none of the information were