Chinese Merchant Complains of Racist Abuse

While Manifest Destiny brought many opportunities, they were not for everyone. Many were migrating to the United States in order to have opportunities themselves. The source is from Pun Chi, a Chinese merchant who was in California during the Gold Rush. In the source, Chinese Merchant Complains of Racist Abuse (1860), Pun Chi writes about how they did not expect the treatment they received upon their arrival because they heard America was free and equal to all. Pun Chi says they were treated wrong, “like thieves and enemies.” They were not treated like everyone else because they were migrants. Their claims of unfair treatment in the courtroom were not valid. The laws themselves were unfair to immigrants. A day for a Chinese person during the Gold Rush included being physically injured, robbed, and in some cases murdered. The taxes Chinese immigrants paid were more than it was for those who were American. Their earnings for their mining finds were little for the actual worth of the gold. Since there was a language barrier, they experienced a lot of unfair treatment.

Many Chinese immigrants came with little to nothing because they thought the United States would be full of opportunities for them to start and have a successful life. Some left everything they had and once realizing it wasn’t what they expected considered returning home, only to be stuck in a cycle of no money but a lot of work. Pun Chi explains how they are exploited in the United States and still, “the purse is often empty.” They give up and leave the life they had, only to be stuck with a worse one, full of work and lack of simple resources.