Discrimination Against Chinese Immigrants

History Day Rough Draft California became a land of opportunity for Chinese immigrants who were driven out of their home country due to poverty and overpopulation. From the Gold Rush of 1849 to the building of the California railroad, more and more Chinese immigrants began taking Californian jobs, which resulted in white nativists who resented the Chinese. Because the Chinese immigrants brought along their customs and culture, they became more vulnerable to prejudice. The differences of cultures allowed anti-Chinese activists, such as Denis Kearney, to target the Chinese, ultimately contributing to the Anti- Chinese Campaign that wanted to decrease Chinese immigration and Chinese privileges. The encounter between Chinese immigrants and white …show more content…
The Chinese men were “of different language, blood, religion and character, inferior in most mental and bodily qualities, the Chinaman is looked upon by some as only a little superior to the negro, and by others as somewhat inferior.” (Chinese Immigration in 1852). The white nativists saw the Chinese as inferior and did not care about them. This resulted in the low wages of the Chinese laborers. The whites did not treat the Chinese immigrants with value and treated them similarly to how they treated other races different than them. Despite the superiority of the whites in the social ladder, the Chinese laborers obtained more jobs due to their work ethic and cheap pay. This angers the whites and increases the amount of violence against the Chinese community. (Chinese Americans). Countless acts of violence continued, but many were unchecked due to court rulings. The whites condemned the Chinese of “being non-Christian and nonwhite… also considered heathens, incapable of enjoying Euro-American freedom and democracy.” (Chinese Immigration and Exclusion (U.S.), Nineteenth Century). The whites saw the differences of the Chinese and doomed them for it. In one court, People v. Hall, a ruling that was passed by the Californian Supreme Court, allowed George W. Hall, a convicted murderer, to be set free because there were three witnesses that were Chinese, and the …show more content…
Kearney was the president of the Workingmen’s Party of California. Despite himself being an immigrant from Ireland, Denis Kearney did not have empathy for the Chinese laborers, and instead he held the campaign with the slogan, “The Chinese Must Go!” (Denis Kearney and the California Anti-Chinese Campaign). Kearney and the Workingmen’s Party protested for the expulsion of the Chinese. In an appeal, Kearney warns of the dangers and problems with keeping Chinese immigrants in the country. (Kearney). Kearney and the Workingmen’s Party blame the Chinese for taking away their jobs and ruining the economy. This increased the anger and violence to the Chinese. The dominance of the whites against the Chinese pushes them away and the possibility of a diverse community filled with peace is