In the Rock Springs massacre of 1885 , enraged white miners in Sweetwater County , Wyoming felt threatened by the Chinese and blamed them for their unemployment . As a result of the job competition , white miners expressed their frustration in physical violence where they robbed , shot at , and stabbed Chinese in Chinatown . The Chinese tried to flee but many were burned alive in their homes , starved to death in hidden refuge , or exposed to animal predators of the mountains . Some were rescued by the passing train , but by the end of the event at least twenty-eight lives had been taken . In an attempt to appease the situation , the government intervened by sending federal troops to protect the Chinese . However , the only compensations for destroyed property were paid . No-one was arrested nor held accountable for the atrocities committed during the riot
Rock Springs massacre
Rock Springs massacre
Chinese Exclusion Act