Editing Leland Stanford (section)

====Chinese immigrants====
The gold strike in California had brought a large influx of newcomers into the territory, including Chinese immigrants, who faced persecution.<ref>{{cite book| last=Asbury| first=Herbert| title=The Barbary Coast| publisher=Basic Books| year=2008| page=143}}</ref> Anti-Chinese sentiment became a political issue over time. In a message to the legislature in January 1862, Governor Stanford said:

{{blockquote|text=To my mind it is clear, that the settlement among us of an inferior race is to be discouraged by every legitimate means. Asia, with her numberless millions, sends to our shores the dregs of her population. Large numbers of this class are already here; and, unless we do something early to check their immigration, the question, which of the two tides of immigration, meeting upon the shores of the Pacific, shall be turned back, will be forced upon our consideration, when far more difficult than now of disposal. There can be no doubt but that the presence among us of numbers of degraded and distinct people must exercise a deleterious influence upon the superior race, and to a certain extent, repel desirable immigration.<ref>{{cite book| first=Elmer Clarence| last=Sandmeyer| title=The Anti-Chinese Movement in California| publisher=University of Illinois Press| isbn=978-0252062261| year=1991| pages=[https://archive.org/details/antichinesemovem00sand/page/43 43]–44| url=https://archive.org/details/antichinesemovem00sand| url-access=registration| quote=The presence of numbers of that degraded and distinct people would exercise a deleterious effect upon the superior race.| via=Internet Archive}}</ref>}}

Stanford was initially acclaimed for such statements, but lost support when it was revealed that his Central Pacific Railroad was also importing Chinese workers to construct the railroad.{{sfn|Asbury|2008|p=145}}