Becoming American: The Chinese Immigrants

Becoming American: The Chinese Experience
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What were the major factors that caused men to leave their villages in China and come to California and other parts of the United States? What connections did they maintain with their home villages and families after arriving in the U.S.?
Chinese men left their villages for the U.S. in the 1830s and 1840s due to the great flooding in Guangdong, Twason County, killing hundreds of people and destroying villages and farms that were their primary income source. The resulting famine made families desperate for food and a way of survival, and sailing to the U.S. for jobs became the only option. Moreover, the Taiping Civil war that left millions of Chinese people dead and their country unstable pushed men to look for alternative means of caring for their families (Efford, 2020, p. 234-235).
The men maintained connections with their families and villages by retaining their shared family names passed down to generations. The men married before leaving so they had a family to take care of and a reason to return and ensured they were buried next to their ancestors so that future generations could take care of their spirit (BillMoyers.com, 2014).