Chinese Immigration

From One Continent to the Next The easiest way to get a job done is to make someone else do it for you. This is exactly what the U.S did to the Chinese immigrating to their country. They used the Chinese for their own needs, treating them with no respect at all. But, despite the fact that they were discriminated against, the Chinese continued to work for the U.S. In the beginning, Chinese had very low numbers, with few immigrants. It was the discovery of gold of 1848 in California that brought Chinese immigrants to the United States.(Archuleta) Between 1850 and 1880, their population jumped from 7,520 to 105,465, with 77 percent living in California. The Chinese had initially immigrated to the U.S to look for better opportunities for themselves and their families. (Archuleta) The gold rush just spurred the Chinese on to immigrant quicker. After the Gold Rush, Chinese immigrants moved to the Railroad industry. (Asian) Around this time was when the Transcontinental Railroad was begun. The Central Pacific Railroad, working from the west, hired any Chinese to build their part of the railroad. (A Chinaman’s) The Chinese had to level ground, lay tracks, and blast tunnels through where the railroad would run. (A Chinaman’s) The Chinese were well known for their cheap labor. By 1867, the Chinese represented 90 percent of the workforce employed. (A Chinaman’s) The Chinese worked alongside others, like Africans. Both were discriminated against by the U.S, and were treated quite wrongly. Though they were not given any exclusive jobs, the U.S found ways to show that the Chinese didn’t belong. For example, the golden spike that connected the east and west railroad caused a great celebration. (Asian) But, there was no Chinese men standing in the photograph taken next to the spike. Even afterwards, the Chinese were not compensated for their years of hard labor. It was as if they never existed. In today’s time, we do not see much discrimination of the Chinese. But, it