![]() ![]() They were also given the most dangerous jobs and longer working hours. Chinese workers were paid less than white laborers. The railroads hired many immigrants, many of them Chinese. These acts gave railroad companies loans and land grants. The federal government passed the Pacific Railway Acts of 18. After the gold rush ended, many Chinese immigrants worked as farm laborers, in low-paying industrial jobs, and on railroad construction.Ħ As more Americans moved west, the need to send goods and information between the East and West increased. Great wealth became more difficult to achieve, but with luck and hard work, immigrants could build good lives for themselves in the West. As the gold rush faded, frontier society became more stable. In a very short time, business growth, gold mining, and trade changed California's economy. Its population jumped from about 800 in March 1848 to more than 25,000 by 1850. The largest and oldest Chinese community in the United States is the Chinatown area of San Francisco.ĥ San Francisco, California, grew more rapidly than any other city in the world at the time. Many Chinese opened their own restaurants and laundries. Some looked for different jobs, and many opened their own businesses. It often favored Americans over Chinese and other immigrants.Ĥ Many Chinese immigrants continued working in the gold mines despite such treatment. The legal system offered little protection. Chinese workers were also the targets of violent attacks in the mining camps. Chinese miners had no choice but to pay this tax if they wanted to mine for gold in California. In 1852, California placed a high monthly tax on all foreign miners. Between 18, about 24,000 young Chinese men immigrated to California.ģ Chinese immigrants soon found that many Americans did not welcome them. Most of them hoped to find great wealth and return to China. ![]() Many of them came from countries that had had few people move to the United States in the past.Ģ At that time, war, famine, and a poor economy in southeastern China caused many Chinese men to come to America. These migrants were known as "forty-niners." Nearly eighty percent of these were Americans from the east. That year about 80,000 gold-seekers came to California, hoping to strike it rich. The California gold rush caused a huge increase in California's population. By 1849, people were coming to California from all over the world to look for gold. Chinese Immigrants and the California Gold Rushġ On January 24, 1848, gold was discovered in California at Sutter's Mill. ![]()
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