为此1869年在田纳西州的孟非斯市召开了一次移民讨论会。荷兰裔美国人Cornelius Koopmanschap为太平洋铁路公司从中国运送了很多劳力，在这次移民讨论会上他提议：南方引进华工取代解放的黑奴因为华工不仅工资低而且可靠。同时这个提议也遭到一些人的反对理由是不愿意看到太多的东方人。其实美国西部华工的高效业绩和加勒比种植园华工勤恳口碑早已传遍美国政商。于是南方派出了代表团去中国招募劳动力。到了1870年代，已经有几千华人在南方如下州种植园里劳作：密西西比，阿肯色，路易斯安那，南卡罗莱纳和佐治亚。除了种植园，在新奥尔良港口城市也有许多华工。

当时的阿肯色州长克雷顿说：引进华工的潜在动机无疑是惩罚抛弃老东家的黑奴，调节就业状况和薪水。

1870年，华工在路易斯安那甘蔗种植园：

照片上就是爱德华盖Ed. Gay种植园主，他家族的种植园持续了近200年是当地名门望族。从爱德华盖家的例子能看出1870年代加州华人南下务农的背景。

1870年10月26日，华工到达了他家种植园。看着华工走下船，爱德华盖的儿子觉得他们是他见过的最奇怪的人，爱德华盖的女儿笑得直流眼泪。爱德华盖让工人们换上工作服立刻下田干活，礼拜天休息时才可以穿中国衣服。

Gay种植园执照：

当时的加州华人劳动力过剩的原因是：1868年中美天津条约续增条约鼓励华工赴美， 1869年5月太平洋铁路完工，经济不景气和排华浪潮风起云涌。

这就使得种植园主去加州寻找华工。1880年时有十万华人住在美国其中7万5千在加州，也就是说3/4的华人居住在加州。其中7千华人是壮劳动力，完全适合于南方的艰苦劳作。但是当华工到了南方才感受到解放黑奴后遗留的种族歧视，南方种族歧视根深蒂固。这体现在种植园主沿用他们压榨黑奴的手法对待不知情的华工们。

Therefore, with a large and continuously growing Chinese population in California, many plantation owners like Edward Gay looked to this other race to supply their need of labor. As J.R. Tucker states in his article Race Progress in the United States, 75,132 of the 105,465 Chinese living in America in 1880 were located in California. In addition, over 70,000 of the Chinese living in California were adult males who were prime candidates for the strenuous labor of the Louisiana cane fields.

Since labor prospects for post-Civil War Louisiana plantations were insufficient, owners looked to the growing Chinese population of California to assuage their problem. Once the Chinese arrived in Louisiana, however, they faced prejudiced treatment that lingered from the recent times of slavery. Racism was still deeply entrenched in many mindsets of the Louisiana Delta, and was reflected onto the unfamiliar Chinese the planters sought to exploit. In order to rebuild their war-torn land and economy, plantation owners still used tactics and practices similar to those that had shown them such success during the system of slavery.

中美天津条约续增条约规定雇主必须和华工签订合约，但是到了南方华工才知道，种植园主根本不打算和他们签合同，华工的境遇和黑奴一样。于是华工开始离开种植园寻找其他出路如在当地开杂货店，洗衣店等，也有的华工奔赴美国东部或西部谋生。到了1882年，排华法案禁止华工进入美国，至此，也断了南方种植园引进华工的源头。

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%