Chinese Chinese in America Conditions in China ruled by Qing Dynasty powerful bureaucracy over 400 000 people lived in China single written language govt officials spread through country peasant s kids lover govt officials imperial family unquestioned rulers 80 90 were peasants in rice production very difficult work sometimes lived off of just rice completely isolated themselves immigration and trading as world industrialized China was held back Europeans tried to trade when denied they turned to smuggling from Opium royal family to poorest peasants was addicted order when seized destroy millions and millions of people men and women rich and poor BIG problem early 1800 huge stash of opium found and destroyed British made a lot of money war signed treaty British allowed to trade legitimately with China English placed hierarchy in society continuous wars unrest unemployment lots of chaos men began to leave to Gold Mountain California banned to immigrate punished by death and illegal immigration continued smuggled came to country that knew little about China interested in China what they knew was from missionaries and traders Asia in U S imagination an exotic land Afong Moy first recorded Chinese person in U S 1830s toured the west coast placed on display thousands watched in awe as she ate with chopsticks did math on abacus and counted in Chinese treated as circus freaks covered by newspapers in great detail Traveling to America worked with brokers to gain passage to U S some left as indentured servants to pay for travel some borrowed money to travel and then paid back over the years trip 4 weeks or longer ate American food and lots of disease when died of disease sometimes thrown overboard and others took pocessions to be able to send body back to China San Francisco landed here completely transformed by Gold Rush in 1848 before 1848 500 people next 3 years 30 000 mostly men wild frontier town and magnet for certain intellectuals by 1850s were foreign born notable population of Chinese men Chinese restaurants opened for other Chinese but liked by people of all races other had shops with objects from the East payed in gold dust when arrived in cities Chinese brought them into community organizations and leaders any Chinese could look for help and support Clans men were forced to join clans met at ships helped with housing and day to day needs when first arrived in U S jobs and healthcare not voluntary organizations clans organized themselves Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association most important and powerful group in U S establishes order and protection in towns representatives would meet men as they arrived assistance not to help but to recruit also helped men to send money back to China mediated disputes sponsored temples for worship Tongs groups of people removed from clans involved in criminal activities smuggling prostitutes from China to U S prostitutes worked in Chinatowns for all men women were kidnapped or sold into prostitution often mistreated bargaining chips for tongs women did not have a good life in U S brought as indentured servants and forced to work as prostitutes people that ran brothels did not work if pregnant 2 years added to service Donaldina Cameron women missionaries many prostitutes escapes an entered her homes and reformatories her and others raided brothels and took the women out tongs would raid her missions break windows burn houses to take women back women that entered missions learned to trade reformed into proper wives and sometimes successful some became madams ran brothels others married a proper Chinese man then kidnapped again and brought into prostitution life again Gold Mining all Chinese men in 1850s highly visible immigrant groups tried as much as possible to wear traditional clothes and braid high standards of personal hygiene and hard workers some men became rich formed lively social culture at mining sites on days off played music with instruments brought from home gambling art of youthful life learned how to say some phrases in English as soon as there was were a critical mass of Chinese whites began to react anti Chinese feeling began to show started to limit immigration Chinese had to pay a fee money went to hospitals but Chinese could not be treated at these hospitals payed monthly tax with gold dust avoided tax collectors People v Hall started as murder trial 1853 white man convicted of murder of Chinese man with testimony of one white man and two Chinese appealed Chinese could not testify against whites judge agreed Chinese like NA or blacks any person that wasn t white was black great impact on Chinese ran out of mining sites and whites allowed this Chinese miners would mine abandoned sites some made fortunes other not so much Transcontinental railroad by 1860s many Chinese working on tracks first used a midst of a labor dispute with whites whites refused to work so Chinese took the jobs heavy dangerous work to prepare land for track executives believed they worked faster became advocated of Chinese immigration by 1869 work over for the most part impact having connection between both coasts of the country a week s wages even if reduced several months of work in China racial conflict 1870 biggest economic depression then Chinese also jobless habits of Chinese were bizarre to whites Chinese worked for longer hours and fro less wages whites weren t happy govt passed laws to restrict the Chinese 1877 height of anti Chinese hysteria men and women routinely beaten sometimes killed corralled and driven out of cities a lot of persecution came from the Irish Chinese Exclusion Act 1882 did not end persecution just not to stop immigration but for everyone to leave restrictions state to state U S to Canada had to register with govt Paper Sons San Francisco lost all paperwork in the fires caused by the earthquake many Chinese claimed to be born in the U S had paper sons in China petitioned govt to allow sons to immigrate govt tried to work around it and tried to stop it govt asked crazy questions Chinese learned questions 1949 5 000 students were allowed to immigrate to U S 1952 all laws lifted against Chinese Eastern European Jews first came to Dutch West Indies in Caribbean from Portugal by 1970 2 000 Jews were living in U S 1850 50 000 German Jews immigrated to U S well educated entered banking and trade even today immigrants from Russia Israel and South Africa 1880 1925 trace ancestors to specific groups from Eastern Europe brought
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