Ancestors in the Americas: Chinese in the Frontier West
The relationships between 19th century Chinese immigrants and the people and issues they encountered in America.
Ancestors in the Americas: Chinese in the Frontier West tells the history of early Asian immigrants from 1700 to 1900. Creating first-person voices through a docu-memoir approach, Ancestors brings to life an unexplored past. Episode 1 traces the global forces that brought the first Asians — Filipinos, Chinese, and Asian Indians — to the Americas and the Caribbean, and looks at their lives as sailors, coolies, and settlers. Episode 2 portrays the large-scale immigration of Chinese during the Gold Rush, their role in developing the American West, and their landmark legal battles to overcome discrimination.