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What I Learned Section 1 -- Answer
the Following Questions: This was the start of the California Gold Rush. Thousands of men rushed to California, and hundreds of mining camps were formed in the Sierra Nevada foothills. People were coming to California from all parts of the United States, Europe, Australia, and China. They came with the notion of striking it rich, and then returning to their families as wealthy people. Did you know the Chinese nicknamed California Gum Sann? It means Golden Mountains. 2. How many Chinese
immigrated to California between 1848 and 1852? A passage from China to California cost $40. This may not seem like a lot of money today; however, most Chinese farmers only earned $20 to $30 a year! How did they afford the journey? A few men received loans or gifts from family and friends. Most men borrowed from moneylenders which meant they paid back the money at a high rate. Other men contracted with United States employers; in exchange for the employer paying the worker's passage, the worker would work for a specific number of years for little or no pay. The ocean voyage from China to California was long and difficult. Passengers lived in small, crowded compartments below deck. After crossing the Pacific Ocean for weeks, the ship arrived in San Francisco. Most of the Chinese were unfamiliar with the Americans, and the Americans were unfamiliar with the Chinese. The Chinese did not speak English, and the Americans did not speak Chinese. Many of the Chinese wore their long black hair in a single braid down the middle of their backs. They dressed in loose coats and blue cotton pants. They used a long bamboo pole resting across their shoulders to carry their belongings. Many of the Chinese coming to California did not consider themselves as immigrants (people who move to a new country to live permanently). They thought of themselves as sojourners (temporary residents who intend to return to their own country). Therefore, they did not learn American ways, and they formed their own Chinese communities. These areas were known as "Chinatown." Almost half of the Chinese who came to the United States returned to China. The other Chinese immigrants stayed in the United States because they did not have enough money to pay for their passage back to China. They also did not have enough money to have their families come to the United States. 3. Name and describe
ONE of the jobs the Chinese performed in the Old West.
4. True or False: Most
of the Chinese immigrants arrived in the United States at Ellis
Island in New York Harbor. Other immigrants from Ireland, Germany, and other European countries arrived in the east coast at Ellis Island in New York Harbor. During the 1870's, the United States entered an economic depression, businesses failed, and people lost their jobs. Some people blamed the immigrants (from Europe and China) for taking jobs. While the European immigrants blended into the American society once they learned English and American customs, Asian immigrants were discriminated against. 5. Name and describe
ONE of the jobs the Japanese performed in the Old West. In the late 1880's, the emperor of Japan lifted the travel ban and issued travel permits to thousands of Japanese workers wanting to move to the United States. The Japanese government only allowed educated, healthy, strong, and moral people to obtain a travel permit. Did you know a moral person is an honest and decent person who knows the difference between right and wrong? Most Japanese settled on the west coast, including California, Oregon, and Washington. Many of the Japanese came to the United States with their families. The Japanese children born in the United States were automatically U.S. citizens, even though their parents could not gain U.S. citizenship. By 1900, there were almost 72,000 Japanese living in the United States. Did you know the Japanese were the first to successfully grow rice in California? 6.
What year was the Gentlemen's Agreement signed between President
Theodore Roosevelt and Japanese Emperor Mutsuhito? In 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt and Japanese Emperor Mutsuhito signed the Gentlemen's Agreement. It stated Japan would stop sending its citizens to the United States, and the United States would not pass laws discriminating against Japanese immigrants. Under the Gentlemen's Agreement, Japanese living in the United States were allowed to bring their families to the U.S. This provision actually created an influx of Japanese immigrants because Japanese-Americans brought their families over in large numbers. 7. Citizens from several
Asian countries immigrated to the United States. Name ONE of the
Asian countries. What I Learned Section 2 -- Define the
following words: Immigrant: A person who moves to a new country to live permanently Laborer: A person who does difficult, physically exhausting work Merchant: A person who buys and sells goods, a shopkeeper or trader Migrant: A person who moves temporarily from one place to another in search of work Quota: Maximum number of people that may be admitted to a country Bonus Questions (Answer 1 of the
Following Questions for Your FREE
Bookmark): b. What was the Chinese
Exclusion Act of 1882? c. Describe ONE of the
following laws: d.
Use five of the words in Section 2 in a sentence.
e. Have a parent or friend give you a spelling test with EACH of the words in Section 2. More Valuable Information about Asian-Americans
in the Old West:
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The American West In Depth: The American West Main Page Exploring & Mapping the American West in Depth The Battle of the Alamo in Depth Asian-Americans in the Old West in Depth | The Pony Express in Depth Reading Program: Main Page | List of Subjects American Symbols | Native Americans | American Biographies | African-American History | Women in History | U.S. History | The American West | U.S. Government | Explorers | American Trails | U.S. Holidays | Patriots | National Parks
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Asian-Americans in the Old West (Cornerstones of Freedom)
Gold Miner: Between 1848 and 1852, approximately twenty-five
thousand Chinese immigrated to California to work in the gold
mines. After the California gold mines dried, the Chinese found
other jobs, opened their own businesses, or became farmers.
