When Chinese were kicked out of America
When the Chinese Were Expelled from America
After the American Civil War (1861-1865), the victorious Union faced a monumental task: rebuilding the country and reuniting a divided nation. A key part of this effort was to open up and connect the vast, untouched West of the United States. To achieve this goal, the construction of a transcontinental railroad, connecting the Atlantic coast to the Pacific coast, was essential.
The Transcontinental Railroad project, stretching from Council Bluffs, Iowa to San Francisco, California, required a massive labor force. The urgent need for manpower, especially in the rugged Sierra Nevada region, prompted the recruitment of thousands of laborers from China. These laborers, lured by the promise of a new life and a steady income, accepted the most arduous and dangerous jobs for low wages.
However, the Chinese laborers who contributed to the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad were not treated with fairness and respect. They faced racism and discrimination. The culmination of this injustice was the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, a racist law that banned most Chinese immigrants from entering the United States.