十九世紀美西華人移民概論

One Mile, One Hundred Years: An Introduction to Chinese Immigrants on the West Coast of the United States in the 19th Century

The unequal treaties from the Opium Wars totally destroyed the Chinese's confidence toward the Chinese Empire, and became the motive for them to look for a better life in the Western world. The charm of the Gold Mountain that attracted the Chinese immigrants to come to the United States began in early 19th century. Among the first wave of immigrants to the New World, the Chinese faced extreme challenges. The high tide of anti-Chinese sentiment began in the mid-nineteenth century and reached its zenith with the approval of the Chinese Exclusion Act by Congress in 1882; the only immigration Bill in American history that was ever passed against immigrants based on nationality and race in the nineteenth century. Despite cultural differences and other obstacles, the Chinese immigrants established their own community. The well-known Chinese Six Companies in San Francisco became a strong voice to fight for their rights and lawful equality. The growth of the Chinese communities signaled a better future when they made a connection with politicians to seek assistance for civil rights on the American soil. This paper illustrates several key issues that Chinese immigrants faced during their journey to the West of the United States in the 19th century. First, China's unstable politics and society were the causes of the Chinese to be uprooted from their homeland and transplanted on the soil of the West. Second, Chinese immigrants' golden dream as they struggled for survival as they hoped to become a part of the American dream. Third, the Chinese laborers were heavily involved with the mining industry, the Central Pacific Railroad, and manufacturing. The primary sources of the paper were based on The New York Times (NYT). Those articles provide a better understanding of the history of the Chinese immigrants to the United States during the 19th century. Other secondary sources include Irish Chang's The Chinese in America, Andrew Gyory's Closing the Gate, Benson Tong's The Chinese Americans, Ronald Takaki's A History of Asian Americans, and Judy Yung's Chinese American Voices. 由於鴉片戰爭的影響，中國政府民心盡失，開始西去尋求未來。在十九世紀，美國西岸的金山夢，吸引了眾多的華人移民，對於早期移民到此的華人來說，異文化與傳統，生存實屬不易，而西元一八八二年通過的排華條款，更鼓舞了美國的反華情緒，此條款也成為了美國史上唯一針對華人移民所量身而製作的律法。在如此嚴苛考驗之下，華人移民仍然一步一腳印地建立起自己的華人地位。其中，知名的華人商社更成為華人對外爭取人權平等的窗口。本研究將以歷史文獻回顧方式，針對十九世紀華人移民在美西所面對的重要問題加以探討。首先，從歷史背景分析華人移民進入美國的當代政治因素。再來，華人的黃金夢與美國夢的挑戰與奮鬥也是研究重點。另外，華人移民對礦業以及鐵路建設的參與，也是華人移民在美國的重大貢獻。本研究所引用的主要文獻是以紐約時報為主，這些新聞事件的報導，對於了解十九世紀華人在美國的移民史提供了很重要的史料，其他二手文獻則是以學者專家的研究為主。