SOC 150 – Essay – Chinese immigrants

In the lectures, I presented the important role of Chinese immigrants (and later other Asian immigrants) to the development of American industrialism. First, discuss how and why Chinese immigrants initially came to the United States and their main contributions to the American economy from the 1840s to the 1920s. Then, drawing on lectures, explain why do you think this history is conspicuously absent in today’s discussions about immigrants and about immigrant policies generally?