The first wave of Chinese exploration and immigration to America started shortly after the California Gold Rush in 1848 and ended very quickly after the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. During this period thousands of Chinese, mostly young male peasants, left their villages in rural southern China in search of the "Golden Mountain" after California's gold rush began in 1848. They were fleeing famine, poverty, and civil wars. They planned to send money home to their families. Many did not make it, drowning when boats capsized, dying from disease on crowded ships, and starving on board. Many had to borrow the money for the passage from agencies that required they pay it back through their wages. Most planned to return home shortly to family, but stayed longer than they expected. By the end of the first wave in 1882, 322,000 Chinese had immigrated to America, less than one percent of the total US population.
Encounter
Chinese were at first successful in the gold rush, but their claims were jumped and they were killed. To stay safe, they chose work that Caucasians did not want. They were cooks, launderers, shop keepers and some became more successful than most gold miners. When there were jobs on the Transcontinental railroad, the Chinese were hired because they were willing to work longer hours for less pay.
Chinese miners were among those seeking their fortunes in the U.S. gold rushes of the 1800s. PBS photo
c. 1881 Courtesy San Francisco Historical Society
Exchange
Chinese workers building the Transcontinental Railroad c. 1860 (Wiki, 2015)
The Chinese worked for lower-pay than other workers, in rough and dangerous working conditions. They were mostly responsible for laying down the tracks for the western railways, in one of the greatest engineering feats of the 19th century. It was started in 1864 and completed in 1868. They helped developed California's agriculture and built the mining business.
Along the way, in frontier communities that sprung up, Chinese men began selling food, cleaning clothes, and babysitting, work usually done by women. They businesses became very successful for them.
Courtesy National Park Service 2016
c. 1891 Courtesy San Francisco Historical Society
In exchange for hard work and success, they were abused, murdered, prejudiced against, scapegoated and given the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 which prevented their ability to become citizens and prevented any more immigration. They were the first immigrants to be officially discriminated against by law.