Introduction Having been part of the Asian American population for a little over a decade, I have encountered difficulties that only an Asian living in America would know. Reflecting on those times, I wondered about the first Asians to come to America and the hardships they faced. The first Asians consisted of the mass of Chinese who arrived during the California Gold Rush. While they had different problems than what Asian-Americans face today, some difficulties are similar to those we have today. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Contrary to popular opinion, the Chinese empire was not always powerful and omnipotent. Although it had great power among Asian countries, China was outclassed by Western powers. The English empire, which had reached its zenith, had entirely conquered China. From the 1820s to the 1830s, British merchants used the Pearl River as a major vein for the opium trade. Opium had a great influence on the Chinese. It made many Chinese addicted to opium, increasing the demand for opium. Due to the increased demand for opium, British trading companies were able to extract more resources from China. Therefore there was discussion about the legalization of opium. However, despite the Chinese government's strong opposition to the opium trade, English traders continued to trade with Chinese smugglers. The opium ban was then enforced even more harshly. Ships were not even allowed to bring opium into Chinese waters. Subsequently, this made the landing of opium merchant ships impossible. As a result, a naval war ensued and the First Opium War was declared. The Chinese Navy was no match for the Royal Navy. Although the Chinese published false reports to keep national morale high, its ships were burned and destroyed en masse. Despite their numerical superiority, the Western guns blew holes in the fragile Chinese hulls. As a result, China lost both the First and Second Opium Wars with England and France. China was punished by England and France by having to bear the war costs for both sides and accept more European goods. Therefore, China experienced an economic recession. The local population was devastated by foreign trade competition and heavy taxes. The economic difficulties hit the Chinese people hard, especially the farmers. Rebellions broke out all over China and people were unhappy and oppressed. The Chinese had every reason to leave their country and find a new home. The California Gold Rush began when James W. Marshall found a shiny object on the land of John Sutter's farm. Marshall, a foreman on Sutter's farm, took the object for inspection and found that it was gold. Surprisingly, Sutter was terrified by the discovery of gold on his land. John Sutter had gone to California to build an agricultural empire. He feared that gold would attract an uncontrollable amount of people to his area, making it impossible for him to realize the dream he dreamed of. Therefore, he tried to keep the news of the gold a secret. Of course, Sutter couldn't stop the news from leaking. Rumors reached from Sutter's Mill, Coloma, California, to nearby San Francisco. In March 1848, Samuel Brannan, a San Francisco newspaper publisher and merchant, published a report on the discovery of gold in Coloma after opening a gold prospecting supply store. He walked the streets shouting: “Gold! Gold! Gold from the American River!” The recent end of the warMexican-American made the prospect of travel even more appealing. California had freed itself from Mexican rule. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ceded the Californian territory to the United States. Local California residents panned for gold and also started businesses to accommodate the expected mass of people who would come looking for gold. Many California families shared the work. The women of the family ran the business, the most popular business being boarding services, while the men went panning for gold in the hope of becoming rich. People from Oregon, the Sandwich Islands, and Latin America (Mexico, Peru, Chile, etc.) flocked to California. These miners were called the "forty-eight" or the "Argonauts", after the famous travelers of Greek myth. Most of these miners were successful. In fact, they found ten to fifteen times more gold than the prospectors of the East. Some were so profitable that they earned a six-year salary in just six months. As these successes occurred, rumors once again spread across the world like wildfire. On August 19, 1948, the east coast of America was also hit by this new gold fever when the New York Herald first reported the discovery of gold. This created the second great wave of miners. This was the deluge of the famous “Forty-Nine”. Most of them were Americans, but many more arrived. The Chinese were included in this large group. Terrible conditions in China coupled with promising gold rumors in the Americas attracted many Chinese to California. With the entry of the Chinese, America witnessed the first mass immigration of Asians. America also observed many changes in their society. The population increased dramatically, leading to the creation of new cities and urbanization. San Francisco grew from about 1,000 residents in 1848 to 250,000 in 1850. This type of growth and wealth provided by miners' consumption and gold made California one of the most advanced regions in the West. However, along with the great progress in American society came one of the greatest obstacles America and the rest of the world face today: racism. At first, the Chinese lived in mining camps and small towns like all other miners. However, times have changed. Due to the Foreign Miner's License Act, almost the entire Chinese population immigrated to the city of San Francisco. Racism in the urban environment has crowded the Chinese into a single ethnic neighborhood. The neighborhood was famously called Chinatown. Chinatown was densely populated because it was one of the few regions where the city allowed Chinese to own land. Most of the Chinese who made the Pacific voyage were men. Even among the women willing to make the journey, many were denied permission due to U.S. policies. Furthermore, almost all the Chinese in Chinatown were poor. They depended on jobs located in railroads and mines or on small shops located in Chinatown. Even though little Chinatown was lively, the quality of life wasn't very high. The richest Chinese citizen was most likely a woman named Ah Toy. She was a prostitute who earned most of her money by courting the ship's captain during his voyage to the United States. Her tall and attractive figure attracted many men and she earned her living as a high-end prostitute hosting peep shows that gained much fame among men in the West. He opened a prostitution chain in Chinatown, which trafficked Chinese girls. Considering that the richest person in the Chinese community was a successful prostitute and human trafficker, one can draw aconclusion on the quality of life of the Chinese people. As a result, we can observe that the Chinese lived a very humble life and that their main neighborhood, Chinatown, can be seen as a poor ethnic neighborhood instead of the interesting market we stereotype as China. After 1851, the majority of Chinese gold miners begin to arrive in California. However, they were not discriminated against at first. In fact they were very welcome. Because of the ideals of Confucius and Chinese culture, the Chinese have shown an extraordinary passion for work. Their humble origins and difficult economic situations amplified their passions even further. Their motivations for wealth and money were more desperate than ever and they did not want their arduous journey across the Pacific Ocean to become a vain journey. Chinese immigrants took work where they could find it. Even though the job offered a relatively low wage, the Chinese showed a relatively high willingness to accept the job. Therefore they were well received by the other California miners. Among highly ambitious miners, the Chinese showed a rare and humble personality. While everyone else came to get rich, the Chinese were here to make a living. They took on the menial jobs that other miners were unwilling to do. Therefore, they proved to be indispensable as workers. They were the cooks, carpenters and assistants these miners needed. Governor McDougal called them “one of the most deserving of our newly adopted citizens.” Their hard work and grit were greatly appreciated by all the people of California. The Chinese were also very happy with their new home. Rather than a country racked by war and poverty, America showed an opportunity for new life. Now that their presence had been accepted, they no longer had any complaints. This period of peace could not last long. When the gold ran out, these ambitious miners couldn't stay happy. They were frustrated because they could not find the gold for which they had made their long journey. When the gold ran out and feelings turned bitter, the evil of racism began to appear. People started blaming others. The majority of the minors were Americans and, being the majority race, they received a loud racist outcry. They declared that California was for Americans, and because that cry respected California's attempt to become a state, racism against the Chinese reached its peak. The Chinese were very different from Americans and therefore easier targets for racism. The Chinese dressed and looked very different from Western miners. William Perkins described them as "dressed mostly in the national costume: slip trousers reaching to the knees, large jackets lined with sheepskin or dog skin and quilted, and enormous basket hats made of split bamboo." They could not have been more different from European, Latin American, or American miners. Therefore, Chinese people have become the main victims of anti-foreigner laws. In 1850, the state legislature passed the Foreign Miners Licensing Act. This law, as the name suggests, required foreign miners to have a license. All non-US citizens were charged $20 per month. Although the law was later repealed, it forced many Chinese to give up their mining hopes. Therefore, many Chinese left the miners' camps penniless for San Francisco. The first Chinatowns began to emerge in San Francisco. High discrimination prohibited Chinese from purchasing land, marrying Caucasian women, or even receiving an education. There.