Introduction
Before the discovery of gold in 1848, California had a population of 20,000 Native Americans, 12,000 Mexicans and 2,000 Yankee frontiersmen (Norton 12). Majority of the earlier immigrants were from Mexico. They mostly moved by forming well organized caravans. Mexicans were later on joined by Chileans and Peruvians together with the natives from California. They all had a passion in the search of gold which was more localized in the south.
From 1849, there were almost 8,000 Americans; mostly located around the Stanislaus River. Later on the Chinese immigrants (mostly peasants) were to come in. They were running away from their country which had been characterized by a decade of unemployment and crop failures. These Chinese immigrants were lured by shipping agents who made them believe that California was a “Gold mountain”. For them to reach California they only had to part with as little as $40.
It is further said that in the first year alone (of the Gold rush), 1000 Chinese immigrants had crossed the Pacific (Norton 17). After four years, this number had increased considerably with over 20,000 immigrants being cleared by the San Francisco customs office. These people who worked in gold fields were organized into companies (by the San Francisco Chinese merchants).
The merchants also provided supplies and transport to the immigrants. These immigrants mostly worked in groups of fifty or more. In addition, they dug loose pebbles and flakes. Gold was retrieved using simple techniques on the river beds and streams. Sophisticated methods were to be introduced later on to enhance the retrieval of gold. There were numerous effects as a result of the immigrants since San Francisco grew to become a boomtown with all the necessary social amenities.
Discussion
The Chinese immigrants were considered to be non-Americans. Their mode of dressing and appearance was highly recognizable in the mining fields which ended up creating a lot of animosity (to them). The most known characteristic of Chinese people is their passion for work (Dillion 5). In cases where they can not get work they tend to accept any wage that they will be offered. It can further be said that the Chinese have a high leaning ability on whatever they are taught. This attracted a lot of interest in California.
After their high influx, new methods of transportation were developed as railroads were built. The developments necessitated the expansion of agricultural and ranching sectors thus providing basic needs to the ever increasing Chinese immigrants. Although the Chinese had their own experiences, Native Americans also experienced some negative effects of the Gold rush. For instance they were pushed off their traditional land and attacked.
This situation was compounded by lack of laws that deal with property rights. The imposition of laws such as the foreign miners’ tax angered the Native Americans who in turn attacked the foreign mining companies particularly those run by the Chinese immigrants. This is because the Native Americans were being driven out of their fishing, hunting and food gathering areas. In trying to protect their land, they attacked these miners.
These attacks always prompted counter attacks from the foreigners (Chinese immigrants included) to start slaughtering them. Those who survived the attacks ended up starving to death. Chinese women had a very large impact on the Gold rush. They had various roles like being prostitutes, married women or rich and poor entrepreneurs (Starr 19).
Most of the women came to California after their husbands sent for them. Some of them feared staying at home alone. But on the other hand these women died from accidents, diseases or other myriad causes. As their husbands were also exposed to this problem, most of them ended up being widows. This implied that they had to engage in other activities like prostitution to fend for themselves. Others became entrepreneurs and engaged in other forms of business (Dillon, 1975).
These experiences of life in the minefields made these women to break from their traditional work. There were ethnic tensions that came about after disputes in claims. The situation was created by lack of federal laws that were supposed to govern the mining rights. Some of their claims were said to be of low value which made them to abandon sites and move on to others.
Chinese emigrants were also hated because they could work for long hours without demanding a high wage unlike their counterparts. This earned them a lot of resentment from other white workers. In the long run they plotted on how they can drive them out so that they can dictate their own prices with the miners.
After anti-foreign and racists attacks on the Chinese immigrants, there were laws that were put in place to drive them out of mines (Starr 14). This was meant to give the natives more opportunities to continue with the mining activities. In addition, California had witnessed high crime rates which increased the number of deaths. Most of these crimes affected the Chinese immigrants as they could not go about with their activities without fearing for their lives.
In addition, like other foreigners they could not testify against the whites in courts. This exposed them to unfair judgments because of the racist savagery. An example is a case where a Chinese miner was hanged after it was alleged that he had stolen a mule for it to turn out otherwise. Despite all these unfairness they were able to strike it big with other professions that gave them an opportunity to progress.
Because the Chinese were mostly looked upon, they had to set up their businesses in centrally located areas. This allowed them to find a common place where they could buy supplies from and socialize with people from their own country. In essence, they were compelled to invest in residential quarters that would take into account their social and religious needs such as brothels and Chinese designed temples. On the other hand they also had houses for recreation and relaxation. In the long run they were able to appreciate each other.
There was a time when the Chinese wooden structures caught fire and this prompted the city to pass some ordinances (Levy 7). They mostly lived in wooden structures and canvas buildings. This ordinance demanded that the Chinese leave the city on 60 days. Ordinance cases were common amongst the Chinese at this period due to the segregation that was being subjected to them. On the other hand these gave them a more resilient nature that enhanced their pursuit for better things.
Later on the Chinese were exposed to a lot of patronization which prompted them to make undeniable contributions to the economy. They offered cheap labor and a wide range of services. Through these, they were accused of injuring the interests of the working class in California. The county is said to have collected a lot of money from the Chinese immigrants ($103,250), after introducing a foreign miner’s tax due to their increased numbers (Hart 17).
To explain the tough experience of Chinese people in California, there was a riot in 1854 (anti Chinese riot). This led to a lot of proposals on how to get rid of the Chinese as if they were animals that had become a menace to the society. There was a proposal to ship them back to China but these proved to be too expensive.
The state of California suffered one of the worst economic meltdown in 1869 that was solely blamed on the economic actions of the Chinese immigrants (Dillon, 1975). This is because many of them had gone there to look for jobs when the transcontinental railroad was being constructed. Furthermore, the congress had to come up with an act that suspended their immigration and prohibited naturalization. This was able to reduce their numbers in California (assisted with high mortality rates).
Conclusion
After all these rough experiences by Chinese people there was a treaty that was signed between the American and Chinese governments in 1868. The Burlingame treaty was to provide for reciprocal exception from persecutions. These outrages can not be necessitated from the characteristics of the Chinese people.
The tendency to recognize them and uniqueness of their dressing was conspicuous thereby creating a lot of resentment and discontent in the mining. The most known characteristic of Chinese people is their passion for work. In cases where they can not get work they tend to accept any wage that they are offered. It can further be said that the Chinese have a high leaning ability on whatever they are taught which attracted a lot of interest in California.
Although the Chinese had their own experiences, Native Americans also experienced some negative effects of the Gold rush. For instance they were pushed off their traditional land and attacked. This situation was compounded by lack of laws that were supposed to deal with property rights
Works Cited
- Dillon, Richard. Siskiyou Trail: the Hudson’s Bay Company route to California. New York: McGraw Hill, 1975. Print.
- Hart, Eugene. A Guide to the California Gold Rush. Merced: Freewheel Publications, 2003. Print.
- Levy, JoAnn. They saw the elephant: women in the California Gold Rush. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1992. Print.
- Norton, Henry. The Story of California from the Earliest Days to the Present. Chicago: A.C. McClurg & Co., 1924. Print.
- Starr, Kevin. California: a history. New York: Modern Library, 2005. Print.