Asian Americans Part 3

The Chinese Immigrants and Sojourners

1. Push and Pull Factors, and Means

• Push factors = reasons that forced people to leave China, such as population growth, poverty, political instability, foreign (Western) control of trade, and declining living standards in the mid-19th century.

• Pull factors = reasons that attracted Chinese immigrants to the U.S., especially the California Gold Rush (1848), high wages, labor shortages, and economic opportunities.

• Means = how migration happened, including transportation, financing the journey, and laws. Many migrants relied on the credit-ticket system, which often led to debt and exploitation.

2. “Gold Mountain”

A Chinese term for California, created during the Gold Rush. It symbolized hope, wealth, and opportunity. Many Chinese immigrants believed they could earn money quickly in America and then return home wealthy, even though reality was often much harsher.

3. Coolie Trade

A 19th-century system of cheap Asian labor migration, where Chinese workers were recruited for hard labor overseas. Although not always legally enslaved, many were economically exploited, tightly controlled, and worked under harsh conditions. It expanded after 1806 and became common by the 1840s.

4. “Credit-Ticket System”

A system used to finance the journey to America. Migrants borrowed money (about $70) to pay for travel and expenses but had to repay much more (up to $200) with interest.

• Worked through Chinese intermediaries and Western ship owners

• Often led to debt bondage, but most migrants eventually repaid

• Used by both legal and illegal immigrants, even into the 20th century

5. Sojourner (“Birds of Passage”)

Chinese immigrants who did not plan to stay permanently in the U.S. Most wanted to work, save money, and return to China. Many made multiple trips. This mindset shaped Chinese communities and slowed long-term assimilation.

6. Overseas Chinese

Chinese people living outside China, often temporarily.

• In 2012: over 50 million worldwide, about 3.7 million in the U.S.

• Historically, many maintained strong ties to China and expected to return

7. “Bachelor Society”

A community with very few women, caused by immigration laws, poverty, and trafficking.

• Over 90% of Chinese immigrants were men

• Led to social isolation, limited family formation, and strong reliance on male social networks

• Reinforced cultural conservatism and slowed assimilation

8. Immigration (data)

• 1849–1870: 100,000+ Chinese immigrants arrived

• 1870–1877: another 100,000

• 1877–1882: about 75,000 more

• 1882: Chinese immigration effectively ended with the Chinese Exclusion Act

• Nearly 300,000 entered, but only 100,000 remained by 1880 due to return migration

9. Chinese Workers

Chinese immigrants formed a major part of the labor force, especially in California.

• Worked in mining, railroads, agriculture, manufacturing, laundries, and domestic service

• 10,000–12,000 built the Central Pacific Railroad

• Paid less than white workers, but more than they could earn in China

• Seen as reliable, fast learners, and unlikely to strike → increased resentment

10. Chinatowns

Ethnic enclaves where Chinese immigrants lived and worked together.

• Provided safety, jobs, housing, language, food, and cultural familiarity

• Developed because of racial discrimination and exclusion

• Centers of both legal businesses (shops, laundries, restaurants) and illegal activities

• San Francisco’s Chinatown became a major tourist and cultural center

T-ngs

Secret societies or brotherhoods within Chinatowns.

• Organized gambling, prostitution, opium dens, and protection services

• Controlled territory and enforced rules through violence

• Engaged in Tong Wars (late 19th–early 20th century), killing about 70 people

• Most powerful: Hip Sing and On Leong

12. Chinese Six Companies

Also known as the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (CCBA).

• An umbrella organization for district associations

• Based on regional origin in Guangdong

• Provided legal defense, welfare, housing, jobs, medical care, and burial arrangements

• Acted as an unofficial government and spokesperson for Chinese Americans

• Played a major role during anti-Chinese movements

13. Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (CCBA)

The formal name of the Chinese Six Companies.

• Headquarters in San Francisco, branches nationwide

• Controlled daily life within the community

• Hired white lawyers to defend Chinese Americans

• Balanced protection with strict social control

14. Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

The first U.S. law to ban immigration based on race and nationality.

• Ended Chinese labor immigration

• Prevented naturalization

• Caused population decline and reinforced bachelor society

• Legalized racial discrimination and shaped future U.S. immigration policy