Millions of immigrants over the centuries have shaped the United States of America into what it is today. America is known as a “melting pot,” a multicultural country that welcomes and is home to an array of every ethnic and cultural background imaginable. We are a place of opportunity, providing housing, jobs and new economic gains to all who want them. However, America has not always been a “come all, come all” country. The large number of immigrants arriving in the 19th century angered many Native Americans and led them to blame the lack of employment and low wages on immigrants, particularly Asian communities. This resentment led to discrimination and legal exclusion of immigrants, with the first and most important law passed being the Chinese Exclusion Act. However, the discrimination so harshly suffered by Chinese immigrants was neither justified nor deserved. With all their contributions and achievements in opening up the West, they were not so much harming our country but rather helping it. Chinese immigrants began streaming up the West Coast into California during the Gold Rush era, seeking economic opportunities. . With the Chinese immigrants came a whole new cultural group and a large number of workers eager to work. The Chinese soon became involved in all kinds of work, from gold mining and railway building to agriculture and fishing. The new Asian population continued to grow as immigrants reported their good fortune in California and enticed more and more of their family members to come to the United States. With their growing population, they created their own large communities and the very first Chinatown...... middle of paper ...... experienced harsh discrimination and even legal exclusion from our country. They were blamed for the lack of employment opportunities and low wages of jobs and received extremely unfair treatment that labeled them as an inferior race. However, inter-ethnic tensions prevented us from seeing how immigrants were making a positive contribution to our country. They not only brought us economic and social gains, but they also opened our minds to a whole new way of life and prepared us for the multicultural years to come. Despite all the aid and modernization they brought to our country, the racism and discrimination that Chinese immigrants suffered day in and day out was neither justified nor deserved. References “The Chinese in California.” Bancroft Library, January 31, 2005. Web. March 18. 2014. .