Coming to the United States

How much time was the trip from Europe and Asia, and how would YOU have liked it?

The trip across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe took approximately one week while crossing the Pacific Ocean to get to Asia took nearly 3 weeks. I would not have liked being an immigrant coming to Asian not just due to the lengthy trips but also how they were kept in the gloom crowded with many other immigrants with no way of exercise or fresh air being in the glooms they had to sleep close building sweat and having to sleep in louse-infested bunks while sharing toilets with one another. With those conditions many died and were not able to even make it to the United States. I could of been one of those people that died too..

What are the names of the main immigration processing stations in San Francisco & New York? Describe the immigrant’s experience at each.

There were two main immigration processing stations. One in San Francisco Bay called Angel Island, and the other that was at Castle Garden in New York, which was later moved to New Harbor named Ellis Island. At Ellis Island the whole ordeal might have taken 5 hours or more. They had to pass a physical exam making sure they had no disease. Those who passed would report to a government inspector checking whether they met the legal requirements: Never being convicted of a felony, showing they could work, and that they had some money which was at least $25  after 1909. At Angel Island the concept of the processing was alike. The immigrants had just endured harsher questioning and had to wait in filthy detention facilities while they waited for there acceptance.

How did Denis Kearney try to stop Asian people from entering California in 1882? Why did he do this, and how would you feel if you were Chinese?

Denis Kearney tried to stop Asian people from entering California by asking or the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act since the Chinese were taking most jobs accepting low wages. If I happened to be Chinese I would be mad especially since I had came to California for a better life.

In 1907-08 the Gentlemen’s Agreement did two things. What were they?

The Gentleman's Agreement limited emigration of unskilled workers to the U. S. in exchange for the repeal of the San Fransisco segregation order.