Early Chinese Immigration   Term Paper ID:27505 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Discusses the patterns & nature of Chinese immigration in 19th century America. Compares & contrasts this history with contemporary immigration issues.... More...

3 Pages / 675 Words 1 sources, 5 Citations, MLA Format $12.00 Return to List of Papers

Paper Abstract: Discusses the patterns & nature of Chinese immigration in 19th century America. Compares & contrasts this history with contemporary immigration issues. Paper Introduction: The Gold Rush in California after 1849 attracted people from all over America and from China. Many Chinese workers came before the Civil War to provide cheap labor for the building of the railroads. The system of immigration was made permanent with the National Origins Act of 1924, now based on the ethnic composition of the United States as reflected in the 1920 census, with entry limited to a small percentage of the number of people living in the U.S. (Takaki 7). The object of the law was also to favor certain kinds of immigrants and to keep out others. More immigrants were permitted from western Europe and fewer from southern and eastern Europe, and Asians were totally excluded, primarily to prohibit Chinese, Japanese, and Filipinos from acquiring U.S. citizenship. These restrictions would be relaxed after World War II. Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. citizenship. had much to do with theeconomic realities of American life at the time, with the Chinese servingas convenient scapegoats for local economic problems, as Ronald Takakinotes: The Chinese Exclusion Act was in actuality symptomatic of a larger conflict between white labor and white capital: removal of the Chinese was designed not only to defuse an issue agitating white workers but also to alleviate class tensions within white society (Takaki 111).This was an era of economic crisis and social strife, and Takaki says thatbehind the Chinese Exclusion Act were forces that had little to do with theChinese themselves. The Chinese were largely a ruralpopulation until 19 , when it was more an urban population concentrated incertain areas. The argument used today applies as well to the end of thenineteenth century--the immigrant population is not taking jobs thatAmericans want anyway for the most part. Strangers from a Different Shore. Some 77percent were in California, where they constituted 9 percent of thepopulation (Takaki 79-8 ). The fact that so many Americans were attracted to California bythe Gold Rush also meant that many more unemployed people once the economytook a downturn. New York: Penguin, 1989. The Chines by then represented a wide variety of classes,showing the success of the Chinese in making a place for themselves in theeconomy (Takaki 79-8 ). Therehad been labor unrest in various industries which had made Congress believesomething needed to be done to assuage the working class and reducetensions (Takaki 11 -111). Support for the anti-Chinese legislation was strong and national.Takaki argues that the debate over the bill showed fears that were deeperthan race, pointing to class conflicts in white society that the Chinesewere supposedly making worse by their presence in the labor force. 2 percent of the U.S.population, but this population was concentrated in certain areas. White society was then beset by class tensions andeconomic crisis. Theserestrictions would be relaxed after World War II. In truth, the size of the Chinese population was notsignificant. This concentration made the problem seem moreacute in the Western states. Thus the development of racism directed at the Chinese was more theresult of economic competition, or at least the perception of economiccompetition. A similar dynamic is seen today in anti-immigration policies based ona concern that the economy is not strong enough to support an influx offoreign workers. More immigrantswere permitted from western Europe and fewer from southern and easternEurope, and Asians were totally excluded, primarily to prohibit Chinese,Japanese, and Filipinos from acquiring U.S. Many Chinese workers came before the Civil War toprovide cheap labor for the building of the railroads. The Chinese constituted only . The Chinese were convenient scapegoats because they wereso visible in the population. Unemployment was a new national problem, and the presenceof Chinese workers was only a reminder that some Americans were not findingjobs. Such success was all the more galling to Americanswho had not achieved that success, and this contributed to harshertreatment for the Chinese population overall. The object of the law was also tofavor certain kinds of immigrants and to keep out others. The way the Chinese were treated in the U.S. The system ofimmigration was made permanent with the National Origins Act of 1924, nowbased on the ethnic composition of the United States as reflected in the192 census, with entry limited to a small percentage of the number ofpeople living in the U.S. The Chinese were needed and were also nottroublesome during the period of the Gold Rush, but after the Gold Rushera, the economy shifted and their presence began to be perceived as aproblem. Work CitedTakaki, Ronald. The Gold Rush in California after 1849 attracted people from all overAmerica and from China. (Takaki 7). If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.

Many of our Papers can be Downloaded From This Site!

PLEASE READ THIS, IT IS IMPORTANT!

Office hours are Monday through Friday, from 9 am to 5 pm (PST). You may place orders for custom research over the phone during office hours. E-mail requests can be made to our graduate and undergraduate department any time, and will be reviewed during office hours. You may also contact customer service any time through e-mail, and we will review your message during business hours. A great many papers can be downloaded right from this site, but not all of them. If you would like to know if a particular paper is downloadable, just look in the description for: "Available for Internet Download: Y" or "Available for Internet Download: N" If you wish to purchase a paper which is NOT available for immediate download, you will need to make other shipping arrangements. Also, please be aware that these orders are processed Monday through Friday from 9 am to 5 pm (PST). If you place your order after 4:45pm on Friday, it will not be processed until the following Monday morning. We charge $8 per page for all of our pre-written reports, plus shipping (and tax for California residents). However, the highest cost of any ONE report is $136, or 17 pages. Please, take a moment. Make sure you have chosen the report you want or need BEFORE you complete your order. If you are not sure, allow us to help you. We do not offer refunds or exchanges, so it is important for you to let us answer your questions during office hours. Reports which are e-mailed or downloaded are in Microsoft Word format. We are making more reports available for e-mail delivery faster than we can update our listings. Please call to check on the status of particular reports. There are many other shipping options which are listed on the Checkout page.