In the early 1840s, a series of natural disasters, political upset, and diminishing necessary resources caused a large number of Chinese persons to immigrate to the United States. Men from the southern part of China were drawn to California because of the need for labor in the gold mining industry. At one point over 25,000 immigrants from China worked in the area. This wave of immigrants continued for approximately thirty years however slowed during the Civil War. By the early 1870s, Chinese Americans made up a large number of persons laboring in industries like farming, industrial factory work, building the railroad, and fishing. Like many immigrants in history, individuals continued to immigrate to the United States to avoid hardship in their motherland. As a post Civil war era economy faltered, in this part of the world, history tells a story of intensified aggression toward individuals of Chinese descent. Chinese persons working in the United States were falsely blamed for taking jobs away from American citizens. In reality, this group of people were working for terrible wages and working in very dangerous conditions. This period of US history parallels many periods of ancient history and world history, in its persecution of an ethnic minority. In US history, this story most identifies with black history and severely discriminative laws that were made to exclude Chinese individuals from entering the country. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 prohibited persons from China from entering into the country unless a person had family, already living in the United States, or connections to diplomats. Individuals from China were the only group that was prohibited from entering the United States during this period in American history. To enforce this policy Angel Island's Immigration Station was constructed. This facility housed those who were detained or ready for deportation back to China. Though the immigration station was supposed to function much like Ellis Island, it was nicknamed the 'Guardian of the Western Gate.' Persons detained on the island were there for as little as a few weeks or as long as a few years with the purpose of excluding Chinese persons from the United States. Many people made the attempt to appeal their case with no success. When arriving people were processed, however they were interrogated with ridiculous and unanswerable questions. In other words, they were given questions that were impossible to answer and either continued to stay in the detainment center or were deported back to China. This practice continued until the early 1940's when a public outcry over safety became well publicized. A fire destroyed the area in the 1940's, and the area fell into disrepair until the 1970's when historians began the process of renovating the premises. Angel Island recently opened to tourists after a fire destroyed parts of the historical area in 2008. Today visitors can retrace a much-overlooked period of history and of the many Chinese immigrants who spent time on the island. This area is located in the Angel Island State Park in Tiburon, CA.
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