Introduction
Chinese immigrants like other immigrants were motivated by economic factors. Life in China had become expensive based on high levels of unemployment. Economic opportunities in the United States provided hope for Chinese immigrants to survive in a foreign country.
Liabilities
In the period of 1882 to 1943, the United States government developed policies and laws to stop the immigration of Chinese citizens from China to the United States. Liability related to the large numbers of Chinese that had come to the United States. In particular, the Chinese were in search for inexpensive labor during the construction of the transcontinental railroad. As a result, the Chinese competed with American workers on employment opportunities within the transcontinental railroad project (Yep et al. 271). Competition for scarce health care resources was also part of the liability.
Settlement Patterns
According to Diwan and Jonnalagadda (45), settlement patterns were based on economic factors as well as racial segregation. Patterns of economic development in western states of the United States determined the settlement pattern of the Chinese. Mining and railway construction were part of economic development in western states such as California. Chinese immigrants settled in California and regions west of the Rocky Mountains. The decline in railway construction and mining industries led to increased lobbying for Chinese to vacate the United States.
As a result, most Chinese citizens were forced to settle into the mainstream society. The Chinese engaged in service industries as well as labor intensive manufacturing in cities such as Seattle, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Boston, and San Francisco. Further, the Chinese decided to engage in agriculture among rural communities in California. Other immigrants settled in black communities in the Deep South by setting up business enterprises that served local communities. In the early 20th century, Chinese immigrants were driven into Chinatowns as part of settlements within major cities in the United States.
Challenges
Major challenges that affected Chinese citizens related to racism, cultural challenges, as well as assimilation challenges. Racism and government policies demanding the Chinese be eliminated from the labor industry led to segregation. As a result, the Chinese were separated from the mainstream society. However, there was some contact based on small businesses set up by the Chinese in poor black communities (Kelly 227).
Assimilation and integration of the Chinese was not welcomed by the government. Like orphans, Chinese citizens settled in Chinatowns. The mainstream society ensured that the Chinese could not be integrated into the larger society. The government ensured that Chinese immigrants were denied citizenship since the government and the larger society felt that the Chinese could not be integrated into the society (Diwan and Jonnalagadda 45).
Poor housing and job discrimination were also part of the challenges that affected Chinese immigrants in the United States. As a result, poor economic conditions forced Chinese immigrants to live in American ghettos. Access to health care as well as critical services could not be obtained. Within American ghettos, violence and crime were major challenges that affected Chinese citizens. Lack of health care meant that Chinese immigrants had to rely on Chinese herbal medicine to survive (Yep et al. 272).
Conclusion
Chinese immigrants as liabilities competed for limited employment opportunities in the United States. They could not be offered employment as well as health care because the government policies were designed to reduce their number. Chinese immigrants settled in western states because of mining and railway construction as key economic opportunities.
Works Cited
Diwan, Sadhna, and Satya S. Jonnalagadda. “Social Integration and Health Among Asian Indian Immigrants in the United States.” Journal of Gerontological Social Work 36.1-2 (2002): 45–62. Web. 13 Apr. 2016.
Kelly, Robert. “On the Sidelines of Society: Chinese Illegal Immigrants in the United States.” Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless 14.3-4 (2005): 227–259. Web. 13 Apr. 2016.
Yep, Kathleen S. et al. “The Revised Naturalization Exam and Chinese Immigrants in the United States: Key Issues for Social Workers.” Journal of Ethnic And Cultural Diversity in Social Work 23.3-4 (2014): 271–288. Web. 13 Apr. 2016.