Chinese Immigration Into America Essay -- essays research papers

Chinese Immigration into the StatesSurprisingly, Asian Americans have been in America for over 150 years.They are as diverse as the immigrants from Europe, ranging from China, Japan,Korea, Cambodia, Korea, Philippines, India, Vietnam, and Laos. (Takaki, scalawag 8)When many people think of American Immigrants, Asians are on the last of theirlists. In The Uprooted, Harvard historian, Oscar Handlin, prize winning bookwith the subtitle "the Epic Story of the Great Migrations that Made the AmericanPeople," completely left out the "uprooted" from the lands across the PacificOcean. (Takaki, page 10) This paper will give some information pertaining tothe Chinese immigration into America.     China is one of the worlds oldest civilizations. It influence havereverberated throughout Asia. Its presence is felt in many of the surroundingcultures. The Chinese people have tried to keep their society pure fromoutside sources. When foreigners entered their homel and and poisoned thepopulation with drugs, the culture could not renounce the imminent alteration oftheir ways. China was weakened severely and was taken advantage of by manycountries.Chinese came to America for a myriad of curtilages. The main reason wasbecause of the myth of the Gam Saan ("Golden Mountain.") Other reasons weredue to overpopulation, poverty, hunger, flooding, high taxes, bad economy,collapsing government, and crop failure. (Takaki, page 38) James Marshalldiscovery of gold in California in 1848 prompted many Chinese to take a sojourninto America to get rich quick. A young man in Canton wrote to his brother inBoston saying, "good many Americans speak of California, Oh Very richcountry O hear good many Americans and Europeans go there very much. I thinkI shall go to California next summer." Stories like these built up this dreamof the "Golden Mountain." The plan for most Chinese was to make theirfortune, and give back home to their family. T he dream of getting rich quick hasbeen around for ages. Due to this, a trickle of immigrants turned into a deluge.The whole thing began in 1835. William Hooper, a young man from Boston,visited a sugar mill in Hawaii. He became determined to start the first sugarplantation in Hawaii. Without a life-sized supply of laborers, Hooper hired"Chinamen" to aid in the su... ...are or "china", is reveredby many Americans. Even the name of the represents Americas debt. In addition,many Chinese trinkets and artistic creation are prized possessions among the Americansociety.The immigration of the Chinese into the United States has greatlysupplemented the cultural heritage of the nation. (Melendy, page i) "Asianswith their capacity for hard work in the face of economical and social adversityand to advance economically, have created cultural microcosms form which theirchildren venture to become Americans." (Melendy, page i) Unlike most Europeanimmigrants, Asians tend to disprove the fender Melting Pot theory of America.The Asians, " did not wish to amalgamate with the dominant society and mostcertainly white Americans of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries made it abundantly clear that they were opposed to Asian immigration and settlement."(Melendy, page i) The United States is a nation of immigrants. "All groupshave left their mark upon the countrys fabric. Their physical stamina and smart abilities have enabled them to make their mark and to addmeasurably to the American heritage." (Melendy, page 182)