Chinese immigrants first flocked to the United States in the 1850s, eager to escape the economic chaos in China and to try their luck at the California gold rush. When the Gold Rush ended, Chinese Americans were considered cheap labor.

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IMPACT: Chinese immigrants were particularly instrumental in building railroads in the American west

​Why did the Chinese leave China in the 19th century?​

• Between 1864 and 1869, thousands of Chinese migrants toiled at a grueling pace and in perilous working conditions to help construct America’s first Transcontinental Railroad. 

• The Central Pacific released Chinese workers in April 1869 with the completion of the railroad at Promontory, Utah.

• In 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act that barred future Chinese immigration and denied naturalization for those already in the U.S. The Act stood in place for 60 years until President Franklin Roosevelt repealed it in 1943 during World War II.

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Economic, Social and political issues

Why did the Chinese laborers immigrate to the United states?

Most Chinese laborers who came to the United States did so in order to send money back to China to support their families there. At the same time, they also had to repay loans to the Chinese merchants who paid their passage to America. These financial pressures left them little choice but to work for whatever wages they could. Non-Chinese laborers often required much higher wages to support their wives and children in the United States, and also generally had a stronger political standing to bargain for higher wages. Therefore many of the non-Chinese workers in the United States came to resent the Chinese laborers, who might squeeze them out of their jobs. 

Evaluate the impact the Chinese had on Westward expansion, Examine the issues faced by the Chinese, Integrate your knowledge of the immigrant experience with what you learn about the Chinese.