Asian Migration

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ASIAN MIGRATION INTO AMERICA
Question 1
The movement of Asians to North America was a continental bridge. It symbolized the creation of new international networks. Most of the migration occurred in the 19th century. The major migrants of the time, who we will focus on are the Filipino and the Chinese.
Many of them had different reasons for the long voyages that brought them to the country. The major reasons that pulled them to the States included business. The start of the gold rush pulled a lot of Asian merchants to the continent. A love for adventure and the desire to see the new world also called them into the country. Others came to pursue education whereas others came to find employment in the newly established land. For others it was because of political persecutions that they had to escape from their countries of origin (Lee).
The Chinese were among the first people to settle into the country. They came in a variety of titles. Some came as wealthy merchants, others as coerced coolies, others had been sold into slavery whereas others were peasants looking for better lives in a new land. They came through the Pacific and entered America through the San Francisco bay and Mexico. Most of them also settled in islands such as Hawaii.
The Filipino on the other hand came in through California. However, mass immigration came in the onset of the 20th century when the Philippines was a territory of the United States.
Whereas the Chinese came from lands of their own the Filipino were travelers.

They were a mixed group of many races who settled in the Philippine area. The major reason for the Chinese to come to the States was trade. The advent of the gold rush brought a number of merchants into the country. The Philippines on the other hand came as a result of treaties that supported their migration such as the Paris treaty. The Chinese came in through the San Francisco Bay and the Filipino came in through California (Lee).
Question 2
Women in the early Asian migration came as a result of trade, marriage or education. In the aspect of trade, poor women from Asian countries were sold into prostitution. The Americans wanted a feel of culture and something oriental and this led to a boom in the trade. This was mostly done by the Chinese as they were among the earliest immigrants into the continent. An example being the Chinese Lady. In terms of marriage it was said that many American people intermarried with the Asian communities while they were out either exploring or fighting battles. Because of this Philippine-born Mrs. Jenkins came to America with her husband. Women were looked at as caregivers and preservers of their heritage in a land that was foreign to many of the immigrants. Since the men had to work and adopt some sense of the ways of the land women were responsible for keeping their traditions (Lee).
Question 3.
Many immigrants faced discrimination as a result of their race. Through the annexation of the Island of Philippine. Many migrants were allowed into the United States. America took over the Islands in an attempt to civilize the uncivilized. 3However so as to keep a divide between the East and the west they denied the Filipino proper legal rights. 4 Chang and Eng were oriental performers and Siamese twins, despite their popularity as performers they never once spoke for themselves (Lee). This is because they were considered inferior and childlike as a result of their Asian race.
In the advent of the Chinese migration into the United States of America, the Chinese were first introduced as slaves. Violence against laborers was a common phenomenon in the country. Though abolished, slavery was given a new name. It was called voluntary labor. These people were called Coolies. They were subjected to harsh and torturous conditions. 1Procurers of coolies used kidnapping and corporal punishment on their laborers. 2 In the Peruvian Guano cultivations, coolies worked in the scorching heat and were exposed to extreme amounts of ammonia that irritated their skin and caused their noses to bleed (Lee).Works Cited
Lee, Shelley Sang-Hee. A New History of Asian America. New York: Routledge, 2013.