Thursday, May 21, 2020

Gold, A Railway The Length Of A Continent, Progress, And...

Gold, a railway the length of a continent, progress, and new beginnings; this was the image of California and the West Coast during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s: the Gilded Age. Consequently, Americans flocked to the West Coast to claim a piece of the prize for their own. But it was not only Americans who heard the story of the wealth of the West. Chinese began to arrive in the 1850’s, but discrimination and racism came too. America was not what the Chinese had been promised or had expected. Poverty, danger, and injustice awaited the Chinese in America. The racism and discrimination inflicted upon the Asians by the Americans was provoked by the behavior exhibited, and jobs performed by Asians in America, and engendered laws limiting†¦show more content†¦The reason the West had so much access to China was the result of another war. â€Å"The Opium War of 1839-42 forced open China’s doors not simply to addictive drugs but to the West generally. The war-ending treaty of Nanking guaranteed privileges to British traders at Canton, Shanghai, and other parts; additional Western countries, including the United States, soon received similar privileges (partly as a result of China s desire not to be at the mercy of Britain alone).† continues H. W. Brands. Once the Chinese saw a chance to earn money, and find opportunity in the New World, they took it. In 1865, when the Chinese came and worked on the railroads, they found that railway work was a decent job, with reasonable pay, so they told friends and family back in China, who came over in hopes of finding work. The dull occupations that Asians practiced in America led to more dislike of Chinese by Americans, and more discrimination against the Chinese. At the start of the Gold Rush in the 1850’s, Chinese sailed to California and the American West Coast in search of gold and wealth. Discrimination and victimization of Chinese started to arise when the mines had ru n dry. â€Å"In the bitterness of their disappointment they turned upon the men of other races who were working side by side with them and accused them of stealing their wealth. They boldly asserted that California’s gold belonged to

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