Chinese Immigration

    Hard times calls for desperate measures, is the best way to describe the massive move of people to the United States during the 1800s and 1900s. Many people from varies countries like German, Itlay, Japan, China, etc. were immigrating to the U.S for a better life for them and thier families. During the gold rush of California many Chinese people immigrated to the U.S. During that time China was going through difficulties. Many people were staring and many people didn't go to school. Meaning many chinese people did not have the ability to read or write. To better thier lives and the lives of their families many of them decided to move to the U.S., the land of multiple opportunites.

    Having the ambition to move to the United States was the easy part, it was getting there that was diffcult. It was very hard for the chinese at that time to get into the U.S. due to the Chinese Exclusin Act. This act prohibited the chinese to immigrate to the U.S. For most chinese immigrants it was nessasary to travel to Hong Kong first. Hong Kong is near coast, so from there the immigrants would go on a boat to America. The boat ride would take many months to get from China to America. During this boat trip many people would get sick and some would die. After the long boat trip the immigrants would be dropped off on an island located in the middle of the San Francisco called Angel island. In Angel island many Asian immigrants would be processed and inteviewed. This was very important because during this time it would be determined whether you would be granted entrance to the U.S or deported. Many chinese believed it to be very shamful to be sent back to China. Fortunately many chinese were able to enter the U.S.

     Many or most chinese immigrants settled in California. Once in America the immigrants quickly realized that starting agian would be difficult. They would live in the same area as other chinese immigrants creating what we now know as "chinatowns.' Many different jobs were ocuppied by the chinese like cooks, pebblers and storekeepers. But during the 1850s most chinese man worked in gold minnig.While trying to rebulit their lives they faced alot of racial discrimination. For several years the chinese had been mistreated and harrased. Especially during the Naturalization Act of 1870, which prohibited chinese immigration.

       In my opininon the chinese immigrants had alot of courage to travel halfway around the world to something they knew very little about. Its very honorable in my opinion to move to a new country to better thier lives and the lives of their families. The chinese immigrant worked hard and succeed even through the discrimination . I think that immigration is a good thing becaue it provides better lives for many people.