Historical Report on Race
Historical Report on Race | Asian Americans | Eth 125
Asian Americans have had their struggle with Civil Rights and discrimination over the course of time and although the battle may have been quiet at times, Asian Americans continue to fight along with other minorities in the struggle to eliminate discrimination and prejudice throughout the United States.
Asians have been a part of the United States for a long time. After the abolishment of slavery and in the stubbornness to higher any newly freed slaves, there was a dire need for labors in the United States. It was then that the British and Spanish brought over new slaves to make up for this shortage. Many of the people they brought with them were from China, India and the Philippines. The Asians’ work ethic was then highly praised and the quality and efficiency is still shown today, but thoughts of discrimination and prejudice lie within the work ethic of Asian Americans.
In 1848, the first large-scale immigration of Asians to the United States happened because of the discovery of gold in California. Many of the Chinese and Asian immigrants came in search of this gold to find fortune in hopes of returning to their country becoming extremely wealthy. While in California, Chinese miners experienced their first taste of discrimination in the form of the Foreign Miner Tax (Le, 2012). This was supposed to be collected from every foreign miner but in reality; it was only collected from the Chinese, despite the multitude of miners from European countries there as well (Le, 2012). Some of the Asian miners refused to pay this tax and were attacked because of it, some of them even murdered.
The Transcontinental Railroad Project was one that almost 12,000 Chinese workers set out to be a part of, but also experienced a harsh form of discrimination. They worked in horrendous conditions, doing the most dangerous
Asian Americans have had their struggle with Civil Rights and discrimination over the course of time and although the battle may have been quiet at times, Asian Americans continue to fight along with other minorities in the struggle to eliminate discrimination and prejudice throughout the United States.
Asians have been a part of the United States for a long time. After the abolishment of slavery and in the stubbornness to higher any newly freed slaves, there was a dire need for labors in the United States. It was then that the British and Spanish brought over new slaves to make up for this shortage. Many of the people they brought with them were from China, India and the Philippines. The Asians’ work ethic was then highly praised and the quality and efficiency is still shown today, but thoughts of discrimination and prejudice lie within the work ethic of Asian Americans.
In 1848, the first large-scale immigration of Asians to the United States happened because of the discovery of gold in California. Many of the Chinese and Asian immigrants came in search of this gold to find fortune in hopes of returning to their country becoming extremely wealthy. While in California, Chinese miners experienced their first taste of discrimination in the form of the Foreign Miner Tax (Le, 2012). This was supposed to be collected from every foreign miner but in reality; it was only collected from the Chinese, despite the multitude of miners from European countries there as well (Le, 2012). Some of the Asian miners refused to pay this tax and were attacked because of it, some of them even murdered.
The Transcontinental Railroad Project was one that almost 12,000 Chinese workers set out to be a part of, but also experienced a harsh form of discrimination. They worked in horrendous conditions, doing the most dangerous
References: Chin, R. (1999, November). Long Struggle for Justice. ABA Journal, 85(11). Hastings, R.R. (2007, July). The Forgotten Minority. HR Magazine, 57(7), 62-67. Le, C.N. (2012). Asian-Nation: The Landscape of Asian America. Retrieved from http://www.asian-nation.org/first.html Le, C.N. (2012). Asian-Nation: The Landscape of Asian America. Retrieved from http://www.asian-nation.org/internment