Chinese Immigration By : Megan Stanley 5ht hour - US History

Chinese immigrants first began coming to America in For the first few years, the Chinese immigrants were highly liked. Government officials and employers thought they were hard working and dependable.

Chinese immigrants didn’t come to America just because of the Gold Rush; they came for the same reasons other immigrants came. The Chinese people helped a lot with the building up America to today.

In 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act that did not allow the Chinese to come into America for nearly a century. Chinese workers had many different jobs, but some of the biggest chances for jobs were miners, employees of railroad companies, agricultural laborers, farmers and planters, and boot and shoe makers.

By 1851, there were around 25,000 Chinese working in California, around the Gold Rush area. Around that time, more than half of the Chinese immigrants in the United States lived in that area.

Discrimination was a big struggle for the Chinese workers in the United States. Chinese-Americans were soon categorized with Native Americans and African Americans.

The Chinese make up the largest Asian population in the United States today. Few Chinese Americans now wear traditional Chinese clothing. On special occasions, some traditional costumes are worn. Most Chinese Americans celebrate major holidays of the Chinese Lunar calendar.