Central Pacific Railroad And Chinese Workers

As the rich became richer and the poor became poorer, it was realized by the laborers of the railroad that their nation's economic growth and prosperity was not being equally shared among the people. Coupled with years of wage cuts (35% over 3 years), and workforce reductions, that then required remaining workers to work 15-18 hour days, the workers fought back.

The workforce constituted mainly of immigrants. Well-connected railway networks allowed the United Mine workers of America to bring immigrants to Colorado. It surely proved to be cost-effective for the company. The migrant workers were paid too poorly for them to be able to sustain their families. Miners were forced to work 10-12 hours a day. “Mine work seemed to turn boys into drones, women into men, and manly laborers into an inferior class of beings.”The company employed women and children in arduous working conditions with inadequate pay, compromising their health and well being. This in turn reduced the wages of the miners as they became easily replaceable.

It was the fire, that caught America by surprise, the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire. Killing 145 workers, the workers were young immigrant women looking for jobs, some even as young as 13 were employed. Usually the workers would work 12 to 14 hour shifts a day, 6 days a week, getting payed only four to five dollars a week. The company was owned by Max Blanck and Isaac Harris. The book “Uprising” by Margaret Peterson Haddix is a historical fiction that teaches students about how working in a factory was. This book is about these three young girls named Yetta, Bella, and Jane began to realize the factory owners were cheating them and not paying the right amount they were told. So they went on strike and kept fighting for what they believed

Analyze the impact of any TWO of the following on the American industrial worker between 1865 and 1900.

As Americans pursued their goal of “manifest destiny,” they economically wanted to link the Eastern and Western United States together. In order link the US, a transcontinental railroad was essential. The constriction of the Transcontinental Railroad offered employment opportunities for immigrant workers. Immigrant groups such as the Irish and Chinese worked in constructing this massive project. However, due to race, the Irish were paid a better salary than their Chinese counterparts. Immigrant men such as the Chinese endured extreme bigotry and acts of hostility by white Americans. As large swells of Chinese immigrants came to the US in the mid-nineteenth century, many in the 1870s experienced hostility and exclusion, as white Americans found themselves competing with the Chinese for jobs. The anti-Chinese movement used Chinese hard work, productivity, and willingness to endure hardship to highlight the difference between Chinese workers and American heroic artisans. Fears among white American wage workers persisted as many worried about possibly losing their heroic artisan professions, not being able to provide for their family

( ) Once the men arrived arrived in California with the thought of striking rich, it deteriorated as they lost connection with their families, difficult to earn money, and the rough environment to live in. ( ) Once the Chinese realized that mining was not easy they had difficulties to provide for their families back in China

The Transcontinental Railroad was responsible for many impacts in the United States. However, the category that had the greatest impact was the Social category. The impact of the Transcontinental Railroad can be divided into three categories. Political, economic, and social.

The 1800’s were a period of technological rapid growth and change for America. The Industrial Revolution was in full force, and new advances were made in substantial numbers. One of these breakthroughs was the steam engine powered locomotive, which was first used in 1830. Railroads were built all over the east coast and encouraged travel and commerce among cities east of the Missouri River. By 1850, there were almost 9,000 miles of railroad tracks on the east coast, but very little on the west coast. In 1862, Abraham Lincoln passed the Pacific Railroad Act, which permitted the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads to begin building the transcontinental railroad. The Central Pacific Railroad would begin building in Sacramento, and the

5. Great Railroad Strike of 1877 cut wages of railroad workers by 10 percent, so the workers stopped working. President Hayes sent troops to stop the workers from stop working and more than 100 people dead. This event was the start of the conflict between workers and owners. The conflict between the Irish and Chinese in labor caused terrorization of the Chinese. Chinese Exclusion Act then was passed to restrict Chinese immigration until 1943.

Some historians believe the Transcontinental Railroad was one of the greatest achievements of the nineteenth century. Looking at the railroad from an outsider’s view, the outcomes that emerged from this great innovation were overwhelmingly positive. At last, the East and West could unite through one easy method of transportation. Trade could flourish and be delivered faster than ever thought possible. Small towns and communities clustered around these train stations. The railroad caused the creation of time zones, caused coal factories to become metaphorical gold mines and the American economy exploded as a result of this great feat. Despite its ability to unify the East and West coasts, however the First Transcontinental Railroad actually was not a blessing for all people living in the United States; the immigrants involved in the construction and the natives living in the area that it passed through were dramatically and negatively affected. The railroad may have brought together the continent geographically, but its construction was marked by immorality, racism, and segregation, which pitted the immigrant workers against the American people. The Native Americans were treated as obstacles, as their land was disregarded and the railroad workers were granted permission to remove or take anything from their land. The Chinese immigrants throughout the West were not welcomed there and were not treated with respect, even after their hard work on the railroad. Similar working

Chinese immigrants during the 1800s was a vital contributor to the success of the Central Pacific transcontinental railroad. The railroad would not be such a big accomplishment for its size and time it took to complete, if not from the contribution of foreign labor, in this case Chinese. While the importance of foreign labor is very evident from the creation of the transcontinental railroads, the Chinese workers life while in the United States during this time did not illustration that. The life of the average Chinese workers saw an increased discrimination, compared to their counter parts. This is demonstrated by lower wages, harder living conditions, and various laws passed by the United States government till about the mid-1900s.

During 1877, railroad workers in West Virginia went on strike. The railroad industry had grew following the Civil War, and wage cuts during the Panic 1873 established anger among workers. Later B & O Railroad stated a second wage cut later in the year. On the other hand employers believed business owners were terrible for business. Business owners wanted to keep costs down, which would cut jobs and wages. “Business owners fought against unions and able to keep their factories and mines operating, they hired strikebreakers, often employed immigrant workers from other areas who were hungry for jobs and had no stake in the union struggle.” (Schultz, p. 305, 2009) However, family and small factories were united as one and controlled by large

Ready and apt to learn all the different kinds of work required in railroad building, they soon became as efficient as the white laborers.” (A History of the Chinese in America, 44) Over the six-year course of building the transcontinental railroad, the Central Pacific Railroad Company hired just about 15,000 Chinese workers to build the railroad.

The transcontinental railroad was built by two major companies, the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific. The Central Pacific company worked eastbound. They faced the treacherous terrain of the Rocky Mountains, landslides, and winter snowdrifts. Central Pacific would hire Chinese immigrants. These Chinese immigrants, “... made up 85 percent of the Central Pacific workforce.” (Holt McDougal,

Migrating to America in search of new opportunities, sadly, the Chinese were referred to as Chinks and coolies. Throughout history, Americans have been in debt to immigrant groups, like the Chinese, who were the only ones willing to do the most dangerous and underpaid work. Yet, Americans have been the most hostile towards the Chinese—the only racial group ever to face an Exclusion Act. During the 19th century, 80,000 Chinese immigrants arrived in the United States during the Gold Rush, but they found no gold—only nativists who did not want them there. So, instead of mining, many Chinese settled for odd jobs and labored on the Transcontinental Railroad, a previously unparalleled project to connect the American West Coast with the American