Lewdog
Gold Member
The Chinese were used as slaves to build the railroads, mine gold, as sex workers, and many other areas as well. Blacks were not the only slaves in the U.S.
Chinese have suffered and continue suffering from white racism. But they were not slaves.
"The history of Chinese Americans or the history of ethnic Chinese in the United States includes three major waves of Chinese immigration to the United States, beginning in the 19th century. Chinese immigrants in the 19th century worked as laborers, particularly on transcontinental railroads such as the Central Pacific Railroad. They also worked as laborers in mining, and suffered racial discrimination at every level of society. Industrial employers were eager for this new and cheap labor, whites were stirred to anger by the "yellow peril.” Despite provisions for equal treatment of Chinese immigrants in the 1868 Burlingame Treaty, political and labor organizations rallied against immigrants of what they regarded as a degraded race and "cheap Chinese labor.”
Newspapers condemned employers, and even church leaders denounced the arrival of these aliens into what was regarded as a land for whites only. So hostile was the opposition that in 1882 the United States Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act prohibiting immigration from China for the following ten years. This law was then extended by the Geary Act in 1892. The Chinese Exclusion Act is seen by some as the only U.S. law ever to prevent immigration and naturalization on the basis of race.[1] These laws not only prevented new immigration but also the reunion of the families of thousands of Chinese men already living in the United States who had left China without their wives and children. Anti-miscegenation laws in many Western states also prohibited the Chinese men from marrying white women.[2] "
History of Chinese Americans - Wikipedia
"The Chinese were never slaves in America-- yes, they were treated very poorly and payed minimally, but they were never brought down to the level of African slaves (unless they were kidnapped Coolies or prostitutes, but the former went mostly to South America). Interesting question though; after the Civil War when the African slaves were for the most part "free," Southern plantation owners thught that they would be able to use Chinese laborers as a replacement source of cheap labor;
however, the Chinese got wise and made the plantation owners draft contracts, and if the plantation owner was to breach his contract with the Chinese, they would sue and usually win their case.."
Were Chinese slaves in the Civil War
150 Years Ago, Chinese Railroad Workers Staged the Era's Largest Labor Strike
The Chinese railroad workers were grading and digging tunnels across a stretch of the Sierras when they decided to lay down their tools. It was the end of June 1867 and snow still covered the mountain tops.
The men, many of them from Canton in southern China, had demands: They wanted pay equal to whites, shorter workdays, and better conditions for building the country’s first transcontinental railroad.
So they put them to their employer, the Central Pacific Railroad, and a strike was on.
150 years ago, Chinese railroad workers staged the era's largest labor strike
They were slaves. They did not get paid the same wage as others and they worked dangerous jobs in which they were basically disposable. Many Chinese women are still trafficked sex slaves even today.
In fact it was so bad that the very first immigration law voted in by Congress involved Asians.
They were not slaves and that's a fact. The were laborers who were paid and as you have been shown were able to strike for higher wages. Black slaves could not do that. Now don't get it twisted because Chinese have faced the same continuing white racism we have aside from slavery.
Getting paid pennies on the dollar and being forced to live in buildings owned by their bosses, and buy food and other things from their bosses who charged high unfair prices, is slavery. They were brought to the U.S. under false pretenses and thrown into an environment that cost them more to work than what they made. They could never earn enough money to pay back the employers for the cost of bringing them to the U.S.
Blacks got zero pennies on the dollar. For 224 years. Chinese faced severe racism and oppression but they were never slaves and you don't get to redefine slavery because you want to argue with me.
You keep acting like Blacks were the only people to face oppression... and in the present time, face oppression still. I love how you skip over the times I show how you are wrong and trying to gain extra sympathy through sensationalizing things through false claims. Blacks are not the only ones to face hard times, it doesn't make it right, but you are also not doing yourself or Blacks any favors with your diatribes. This semester one of grad classes was specifically about the unfair treatment of Minorities, Women, those in poverty, and those who are not heterosexuals. Like I said a long time ago, I bet I've read just as much if not more on this subject than you have.