Chinese Immigrants Adjustment to Mainstream America 1850-1950

Abstract

This dissertation has the purpose of analyzing the rise and fall of the Chinese Empire and its relations with the United States of America. Therefore, three important themes have been tackled in this research: 1) A historical background has been presented about the position of china in the world and the last three dynasties that led to the fall of imperial china. 2) The pull and push factors that pushed the Chinese to move to the United States of America. 3) The persecution and violence that the Chinese had gone through and the different discriminatory laws and clauses widespread against the Chinese. This work has mainly focused on the California Gold Rush and the Chinese active participation to the transcontinental Railroad. Accordingly, a heated analysis about the Chinese immigration had been presented and its role riding the popular Anti-Chinese fervor and fear of an overpopulation and control of the Chinese people. Indeed for more than 150 years of menial labor and discrimination, as well as service and contributions to American culture, immigrants from China have not been welcomed with open arms. But Chinese Americans had battled long to make a place for themselves, in exotic Chinatowns in New York to San Franciscan shores. In this country of immigrants and American dream and freedom, the first Chinese who settled in America learned quickly that freedom was not distributed fairly. In fact Chinese Americans endured poverty and hostility. But the lure of gold, money and the opportunity for a better life continued to glimmer on the horizon. However, prejudice that they experienced from the bias some hold against all minorities to an ethnic superiority from those born in China.