University of British Columbia
Ubc Library: The Chung Collection
This is a fabulous collection of artifacts related to Chinese immigration to British Columbia. Although most of the artifacts are not online, there is a lengthy video interview with Dr. Wallace Chung, the collector, and detailed...
University of California
History Project: Debate Over the California Constitutional Convention, 1878 1879
Lesson on immigration, conflict and nativism in which students examine primary source documents to evaluate public policy and attitudes towards Chinese immigrants in California, 1878-1879.
Library of Congress
Loc: Primary Source Set: Westward Expansion Teacher's Guide [Pdf]
As the United States expanded westward, many cultural groups came into contact with one another, such as Native American tribes, Chinese, and various Europeans. In this set of exercises, students use primary source documents to explore...
Other
Penguin Group Canada: Our Canadian Girl: Emily (Teacher Guide) [Pdf]
This teacher's guide accompanies 'Emily: Across the James Bay Bridge', one in the Our Canadian Girl series. The novel looks at the experiences of Chinese immigrants in the early 1900s.
Library of Congress
Loc: Chinese Immigration
Excellent coverage of the Chinese immigration story. Begins with early dreams of gold, describes decades of struggle, and continues to contemporary Chinese American life.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: America in Class: The Chinese Question From a Chinese Standpoint, 1873
Lesson on how the Chinese in California confronted anti-Chinese sentiment and discrimination in the late 1800s. Comprehensive lesson with primary source materials.
OpenStax
Open Stax: The Impact of Expansion on Chinese Immigrants and Hispanic Citizens
As white populations moved westward in the 19th century, Chinese immigrants and Hispanic Americans faced racism and discrimination and were unable to compete on an equal basis for land. Eventually, both groups settled into urban areas...
Michigan State University
Michigan State University: Msu Libraries: Digital Collections: Asian America
A collection of primary source documents and books that detail the racial discrimination Chinese and Japanese immigrants faced in the U.S. during America's involvement in the Second World War. One report from 1877 looks at Chinese...
Other
Kootenay an Exploration of Historic Prejudice and Intolerance
A fascinating look at prejudice against immigrants and First Nations peoples in the Kootenays in Victorian days.
Stanford University
Sheg: Document Based: Reading Like a Historian: Chinese Immigration, Exclusion
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students reading primary source documents to solve a problem surrounding a historical question. This inquiry lesson allows students to explore the social and economic factors that fueled the wave of...
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Cprr Photographic History Museum: Fusang: The Chinese Who Built America
Provides excerpts from "Fusang: The Chinese Who Built America: The Chinese Railroad Men" by Stan Steiner. Describes how the Chinese contributed to the construction of the transcontinental railroad.
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Cprr History Museum: Joint Committee to Investigate Chinese Immigration
Contains the text of the report of the joint special committee to investigate Chinese immigration.
Other
State of California: Immigration Station Angel Island
Memories of Angel Island immigration station are sometimes bittersweet as the Station was designed to "Exclude new arrivals." Site provides the interesting history of this immigration station of the West.
Other
Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation
The Angel Island Foundation provides a history of the Immigration Station that was in operation from 1910 to 1940. Find information on the journey across the Pacific and conditions upon arriving at the Station.
Stanford University
Stanford Magazine: Angel Island: Breaking the Silence
This article is about Katherine Toy, who is in charge of restoring the barracks at Angel Island. This story also discusses the plight of Chinese immigrants once they reach American shores and their poetry written on the walls of the...
Huntington Library
Huntington Library: Land of Golden Dreams: Li's Journey: China to California
Li is a 14-year-old boy from Guangdong, China, who travels to California during the Gold Rush. Read about his journey on a sailing ship from Southern China to San Francisco. Along the way experience, the sights and sounds of sea travel...
Library of Congress
Loc: Chinese Immigration to the Us, 1851 1900
A collection of primary source documents giving historical evidence regarding the immigration of Chinese into the U.S. and the feelings of the government and the other settlers about it.
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Gilder Lehrman Institute: Immigration and Migration
[Free Registration/Login Required] A lengthy essay discussing the differing opinions about immigration and the role of immigrants in the United States in the latter half of the 19th century and the early 20th century. Find out about the...
Calisphere: University of California Libraries
University of California: Calisphere: Chinese Exclusion Act
Primary source images that highlight Chinese immigrants to California, the perceptions held about them and the sentiment leading to the Chinese Exclusion Act.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Primary Source Set: Early Chinese Immigration to the Us
This collection uses primary sources to explore early Chinese immigration to the United States.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Progress, the Gilded and the Gritty: America, 1870 1912
Eighteen primary sources-historical documents, literary texts, and visual images-that explore the industrial, racial, and technological progress of the late-nineteenth century.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Lee Chew, "The Biography of a Chinaman"
A story of the rise, the challenges, and the alienation experienced by one Chinese immigrant in America. Questions for discussion included.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: People: Assimilation and the Crucible of the City: Exclusion
This lesson examines government reports that urged restrictions on immigration to America at the turn of the nineteenth century.
Library of Congress
Loc: Interviews With Today's Immigrants
This site, part of a larger lesson plan about immigration from the Library of Congress, provides interviews that students had with immigrants from around the world.