Chinese Immigrants In America

The Effect of Chinese Immigration in America During the mid to late 1800’s, the United States of America underwent a crucial era of expansion and industrialization that many historians recognize as the start of major growth and transformation into the sovereign country that America is today. By the 1840’s, the industrial revolution was reconstructing the east, due to newly created railroads, textile mills, and small cities that stretched across the entire eastern seaboard. By 1860, over fifteen percent of Americans lived in cities, and a staggering one third of the nation’s income was generated from manufacturing ("Immigration: The Journey to America"). Although the east coast was rapidly expanding during this era of industrialization, …show more content…
However, the work ethic that Chinese immigrants displayed were unrivaled to any other group. The Chinese took on a wide variety of occupations that needed to be filled in order to complete necessary jobs, which assisted in the growth of the economy as a whole. By 1880, a fifth were engaged mining, another fifth in agriculture, a seventh in manufacturing, a seventh were domestic servants, and a tenth were laundry workers ("Chinese Immigrants and the Building of the Transcontinental Railroad"). All together, Chinese immigrants worked over twenty different jobs, which is a clear indication of their importance across all sectors of the economy in the West as whole. Perhaps the most definite characteristic of the Chinese’s’ work ethic was their dependability and ability to complete the task at hand. Many Chinese immigrants had taken jobs that nobody else wanted or that were considered to be too dirty, but nonetheless had to be completed. The Chinese worked in mines, swamps, construction, and in factories, which have the potential to be extremely dangerous and not easy to accomplish. Additionally, Chinese men took bad wages because their families lived in China where the cost of living was low. As a result, they were invaluable to manufacturers because the reduced cost of labor saved them money (Tsai 1986). If it …show more content…
This railroad was constructed to link the west coast of the United States to the east coast. Due to this demand, the Central Pacific Railroad Company was established, and construction of the route to the east coast from Sacramento began in 1863. However, only two years after the project began, several Chinese workers were hired due to the minimal progress that was made in the first two years. Hiring Chinese workers cut labor costs by over one third, while also improving the efficiency and quality of work being completed. Chinese immigrants worked for less than one dollar per day to accomplish life-threatening tasks such as blasting and laying ties over the terrain. Due to the mountainous territory, the beginning of production was extremely difficult. Chinese workers were faced with the near impossible task of laying tracks over terrain that rose 7,000 feet in 100 miles. To do so, the Chinese workers used techniques they had learned in China to complete similar tasks. Ropes from the top of cliffs in baskets lowered them, and while suspended, they chipped away at the granite. This strategy was also implemented to plant explosives that were used to detonate tunnels. Many workers risked their lives and died in the harsh winters and dangerous conditions. Without their prior knowledge from working in China, the quality of work would have suffered