3.1 Society's Reaction to Chinese Immigrants

Chinese immigrants were faced with a hostile American society. Chinese labor was greatly needed, particularly in California during the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad. However, they were treated as nothing more than laborers. These immigrants struggled to assimilate. They did not have the luxury that European immigrants did. They could not change their name and attempt to blend in. They were marked, segregated, and politically invisible. The Chinese could not vote and they were barred from the court witness stand. Their lack of a voice in society made them vulnerable. Chinese immigrants were refused service in restaurants, ghettoized into specific neighborhoods, and segregated within the education system. “Oriental” schools were created to keep the Chinese students separated from white children. The small number of Chinese students who did attend white schools were bullied and denied participation in extracurricular activities.

The struggle of Chinese immigrants worsened during The Great Depression when the economic and social isolation of Chinese within Chinatowns became even more severe. During the Great Depression, American-born Chinese with special training and college degrees were largely forced to work menial jobs. The main business of the Chinese was laundry, followed by work in restaurants, and finally, work in shops and groceries. "Instead of being employed in the areas for which they had been trained, many were carrying trays, washing dishes, cutting meat, ironing clothes, drying fish, and selling Chinese herbs" (Chun, 17). The Chinese restaurants and laundries flourished in the bachelor society of the time. "Until 1869, the California population was still 70 percent male and, given their decidedly macho character, many so-called women's jobs such as laundering simply went undone" (Chen, 58). The Chinese were recognized as hard workers and said to make better servants than white servants. Unfortunately, their work ethic did not earn them respect.