What was the role of Chinese immigrants in the early West of the United States?

Question

What legal measures were taken against them by whites in California? What motives were given to justify exclusion of the Chinese from American society? Do these seem different from, or similar to the objections posed to other groups of immigrants?

Please answer this ASAP.

Best answer points for the most thorough and complete answer that is easy to understand. :)

Answer 1

They were mainly used as a source of cheap labour

Answer 2

I don't know a whole lot, but here's what I know. The Chinese people came to America around the time of the gold rush. They were disliked by the greedy American and Mexican prospectors of the time, which may have lead to their exclusion. Once the gold rush died down, they had to search for new jobs, just as the Americans did. Many helped bulid the Atlantic-Pacific Railroad (there may be a more specific name). They were called "Coolies," a derrogative name of which I don't know the origin. They faced different struggles than European and Mexican immigrants of the time did. They came from a culture which was behind in the fields of technology and other aspects of life. China used the sale of opium and gunpowder to keep as close as they could to the far more advanced European countries. That being said, the Chinese people may have been a little overwhelmed by the new life of America. Also, the Chinese language wasn't even close (as still van be said today) to the English language. This made it especially difficult to communicate.
Probably the main reason they were outcasted was because of the time that they immigrated, in the middle of the gold rush. Greed drove people to dislike anyone else who tried to achieve their dream. All it took was one person to say "Hey, these people are coming to our land and stealing our gold," to make an entire society frustrated.
Sorry, but I don't know of any legal implications they would have been faced with.

Hope this helped.

Answer 3

I think it would be better to ask which jobs don't Americans want?

And a second question would be, if Mexicans are so great, why is Mexico a place they want to leave?

And a third is, when is the last time you saw a Chinese drop out who can't speak english?

Keep up the good work Amigo.

Answer 4

They were used to build the western section of the transcontinental railroad to salt lake city.
They were segregated and had about the same rights a slaves in the south , except they were not owned outright. I believe they also limited the arrival of Chinese women so the population would not expand beyond those needed for the RR.

the chinese exclusion act of 1882

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Exclusion

and general immigraton history of asians

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_immigration_to_the_United_States