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California gold rush economic impact
Gold rush research paper
California gold rush economic impact
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The Chinese workers were paid less than the Irish workers, and more treated just as bad. The Chinese workers were also made to pay full California taxes and weren’t allowed to become citizens. The Central Pacific were building through Sierra Nevada, which was a challenge. The Chinese workers were still willing to work 13 hours shifts 6 days a week, which was longer than any other race was willing to work, the Chinese workers were also willing to do the more dangerous tasks such as using explosives in caves. In 1868, 85% of the Central Pacific railroad workers were Chinese men (Crewe 18).
Historically, groups of people whose “label” is comprised of conjunctive ethnicities experience a difficult time finding their true identity, but identity is found when unidentifiable individuals find a common goal. In the course of the last two weeks, we explored a concept called “Pan-Ethnicity” which deals with the unification of multiple ethnicities. It’s concept and practice is displayed by Yen Le Espiritu’s “Coming Together: The Asian American Movement”, and in chapter eight and nine of Diane C. Fujino’s book, “Samurai Among Panthers” respectively. In Espiritu’s text, a pan-ethnic organization or more specifically, a pan-Asian organization did two things for the Asian American movement.
Leonard L. Richards' book The California Gold Rush and the Coming of the Civil War (2007) is not a book about the discovery of gold or the forty-niners which rushed to the west for quick wealth, nor is it a reference to the horrors of the Civil War. Richards book is about the politics, the shifts in power and the inequality between the Whites of the North and South, and ultimately it is the harsh reality for both that two opposing viewpoints on slavery within one nation filled with colored men and women would not exist coherently and that ultimately one would prevail over the other, which ultimately led to the Civil War of 1861. The book begins just two years before the Civil War, in 1859 with a duel between David S. Terry, chief judge of
Asian Americans were using the judicial system to fight for their rights and have the same rights as a citizen. For example, a very successful case it was the “Yick Wo v. Hopkins” Yick Wo was not an American Citizen he goes to the Supreme Court and argues that the laundry ordinance violated his rights under the fourteen amendments, his right to due process and equal protection, furthermore Yick Wo won the case. This was the first case that the Supreme Court help a Chinese person who was fighting for his rights and did not ruled against him for not being a citizen. A case that was not successful was “United States v. Ju Toy” he was a Chinese man and was born in the U.S Toy went to China and returned to San Francisco but on his return he was
In 1848, California became part of the United States. A Treaty was set into place at that time to allow the native people to become U.S. citizens. However, because the government failed to live up to the agreed terms of the Guadeloupe Hidalgo Treaty, which was signed as a peace agreement to end the war between the United States and Mexico, the native people suffered horrendously during the next several decades. The confrontation between the Anglo’s and the Indians in California was horrific and brutal to say the least.
This was a really interesting and informative chapter to read because I had no idea how big of a role the Chinese played in American History. I wasn’t surprised when I was reading about how “white” laborers demanded that certain companies to not hire any Chinese people. I though to myself “here we go again”, but I was happily surprised when I read about what the President of the Central Pacific Railroad had to say about these demands. The President of the company Leland Stanford had nothing but positive things to say about his Chinese workers. He often referred to them as quiet, peaceful, reliable, and willing to learn all the different kinds of work.
Chapter six examines the anti-Chinese sentiment with the emerging class antagonism and turmoil between white capitalists and workers. The unwelcomed arrival of Chinese immigrants brought along their own social organizations such as the huiguan, fongs, and tongs. These types of social organizations secured areas of employment and housing for Chinese immigrants in California. This social structure that was unknown to Anglos led them to also categorize Chinese on the same level as Indians by depicting them as lustful heathens whom were out to taint innocent white women. These images were also perpetuated onto Chinese women, thus, also sexualizing them as all prostitutes.
Chinese immigrants came to the U.S for the california gold rush, this event provided many jobs, hope for a good future, and hope to give a good life to their families. Nativists
Americans were able to make thousands of dollars off of gold and immagrants and foreigners from all over the world came to California. Citizens became richer and all different cultures learned to
Over the Gilded Time, immigrants just weren't discriminated against, nonetheless were being treated badly at the workplace. Moreover, the distressing working situation of immigrant laborers, specifically how the men who worked with fertilizers dropped directly into vats and even lost their lives. The reports demonstrate, despite the fact that immigrants were advised the United States was obviously a wonderful place to call home, these people endured outstanding challenges. Furthermore, within this period American workers had been discriminating against Chinese laborers. U. S employees had been going on concerning Chinese obtaining American job opportunities.
When the Chinese arrived, they would wait for days, even months in the barracks of the immigration station for their interrogation that would allow them to gain entry into the United States. Their journey to America was rough, and there was almost no support for the immigrants. While living in America, the mass majority of Chinese immigrants were poor and experienced terrible living and working conditions. Many died from the toxic chemicals in the gold mines, and from the diseases transmitted from one worker to another. Often, supervisors of the mines would take advantage of the Chinese workers’ inexperience and would pay them low wages for dangerous
Griswold mentions, “The discovery of gold in 1848 created a situation in which thousands of Yankee immigrants were competing with native-born Californio and Mexican miners in the gold fields. Xenophobia, nativism, residual of war-time patriotism, and racism soon resulted in violent confrontations between English-speaking immigrants and other residents” this shows that the Mexicans were being discriminated (4). The Americans wanted to get all the gold and they started being racist towards the Mexicans. There were many different types of violence that was occurring against the Mexicans in their old territories. “In Texas, shootings and killings of Mexicans passed almost without mention...
The California Gold Rush marked a significant event in U.S. history that will be remembered
Chinese people encountered considerable prejudice especially by those who did the same thing in white society, because Chinese “coolies” were used as a scapegoat for lower wages by politicians and labor leaders. The emerging trade unions, under such leaders as Samuel Gompers,also took an anti-Chinese position, regarding them only as competitors to white laborers who would “steal” the white people’s jobs. Only with the emergence of the international Workers of the World did trade unionists start to accept them as part of the American working class. The racism the Chinese Americans faced varied greatly, and could be anything from name- calling to, full out frontal assault.
Every minority has had to endure the injustice and inequality that has been thrust upon them here in US. Thankfully they wouldn’t back down without a fight, and so from the 1960s onward many activist movements rose up to fight for equality and justice. One of the people spearheading the many movements was Yuri Kochiyama. She was Japanese-American but supported all minorities. Since after WW2 she was involved heavily in activist movements.