America is known as the “land of opportunity,” and people from all around the world admire the supposed equality of U.S. society. Foreigners come searching for the “American dream,” wanting to take advantage of America’s system of “achieving the impossible.” But when one looks at the struggles immigrants had to go through upon arriving in America, one must question if equality has always been an American ethic. The first Chinese immigrated to the United States during the gold rush in 1848-49 in California, but had no chance to profit from the gold. The Chinese worked as storekeepers, market gardeners, and launderers and grouped together with other Chinese immigrants to form what is now known as Chinatown. Even though the Chinese seemed to be situated, Chinese settlement in the U.S. was not easy. The Chinese would always be willing to work …
