 In the years preceding the Rock Springs massacre, the importation of Chinese labor was seen as a "system worse than slavery".The white miners at Rock Springs, being mostly Cornish, Irish, Swedish, and Welsh immigrants, believed lower-paid Chinese laborers drove down their wages.The Chinese at Rock Springs were aware of the animosity and rising racial tension with white miners, but had not taken any precautions, as no prior events indicated there would be any race riots.