Grades: 5-12Subjects:
English, Social Studies, U.S. History, World History
Activities: 3
With dreams of having a better life, thousands of Chinese risked their lives across the Pacific Ocean to join in the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad from 1863 to 1869. These Chinese laborers worked under extreme and hazardous environments. Due to their ethnic appearance and language barriers, the Chinese were greatly taken advantage of by their employers. These Chinese laborers became pioneers in the collective labor actions of American labor history, while also contributing to the economies of the U.S. and China.
Students will learn:
- The contributions of Chinese railroad workers and immigrants to the economies of the United States and their home countries abroad.
- The pay disparities and working conditions of Chinese railroad workers and immigrant workers.
- The fact that the Chinese railroad workers’ contributions were not recognized.
- The reasons immigrants wanted to come to the U.S.
- To research the railroad’s impact on the Native Americans’ lives, communities, and homelands.
Chinese Transcontinental Railroad Workers Essay:
The construction of the 1,776 mile Transcontinental Railroad was established by the Federal Government’s Pacific Railroad Act. Two companies, the Central Pacific Railroad starting from the West and the Union Pacific Railroad starting from the East, took on the immense task to build this project, thus linking travel between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The 660 miles of the Central Pacific railroad started in Sacramento in 1863. Between 1863-1869 the Central Pacific hired more than 13,000 Chinese laborers to support the construction. It took the construction crews, comprised of 80% to 90% Chinese laborers, fifteen months to drill and blast through 1,659 feet of rock to complete the Summit Tunnel at Donner Pass in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
The Chinese workers’ contribution to this historic task has been extensively overlooked by American mainstream society. The Transcontinental Railroad contributed to and changed America in so many ways. It facilitated a far-reaching scale of domestic commerce and international trade. During the 1880’s, the annual amount of freight that the railroad transported was worth around $50 million per year. In 1872, the first mail-order catalog business was formed due to the new transportation system. In addition, with the railroad, transportation expense and travel cost were reduced by 85%. Moreover, the Transcontinental Railroad connected numerous scattered cities and towns across the West, making it easy for immigrants to settle across the land. With the help of the railroad’s stringent schedules, the U.S. government had to rethink how it marked time and adopted the four standard time zones in 1883. Importantly, the railroad became a symbol of a growing industrial power and a source of national confidence in the U.S. by facilitating American prestige (Kiger, 2019). When the Pacific Railroad was completed, not one Chinese laborer was shown on the picture of the railway completion celebration at Promontory Point Utah. In fact, although Chinese labor contributed to all those achievements, minimal current recognition has been given. Even in today’s America, immigrant contributions are often downplayed.
Chinese workers contributed to more than only the U.S. economy as their
remittance to their home country also helped economic development in their hometowns. At the time during the nineteenth century, one week’s pay in America was equivalent to several months of wages in China. Thus, from their meager earnings many Chinese in America emerged as a new class of aristocrats in Guangdong province (Chang, 2004). Chinese workers saved a huge proportion of their meager wages and sent their savings to their families in China, thus contributing to improved living conditions in China. They also financially supported the XinHai revolution in 1911, also known as the Chinese Revolution, which abolished the last imperial dynasty and established the Republic of China.
As Chinese labor was the major force in railroad construction, they endured immense life safety concerns. From the first day they traveled to the U.S., thousands of Chinese were crammed in tight quarters, lacking fresh water, food, air and sunlight. This deadly journey from Hong Kong took 75 to 100 days to reach California, with 1,620 workers out of 2,523 losing their lives during the voyage, a death rate of 64%. (Dong, Hu & Chinese American Society, 2010; Ye, 2011).
When they arrived in America, the Chinese laborers worked, as mentioned, in extremely dangerous conditions without proper protection. It took the Chinese laborers fifteen months to drill and blast through 1,659 feet of rock to complete the Summit Tunnel at Donner Pass in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The Chinese workers blasted a total of 15 tunnels and built 40 miles of snow sheds to keep blizzards from blocking the tracks. An example of the dangers faced by the Chinese workers was a three-mile stretch along the precipitous gorge over the American River, nicknamed “Cape Horn.” The slope was at an angle of seventy-five degrees, and the river was, in places, twenty-two hundred feet below. The railroad, etched on the side of the mountain, required blasting to cut along the sheer cliffs (Ambrose, 2000). Moreover, the most dangerous time was during the winter when avalanches killed dozens of workers. When building the railroad through the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the death rate of Chinese workers was greater than 10% of the work force (Lu, 1997). Several Chinese associations were tasked to recover remains of Chinese workers for repatriation back to China. This immense task was a solemn promise given to these dedicated Chinese souls. (Dong, Hu & Chinese American Society, 2010).
Moreover, the Chinese laborers were treated unfairly while working high-intensity jobs in a deadly working environment. White Caucasian workers were paid $35 per month with food and accommodation, but Chinese laborers initially received only $26 without food, accommodation nor basic insurance (Huang, 2006). Furthermore, White supervisors could whip Chinese laborers without any reason. Starting on June 25th, 1867, in Truckee, Chinese laborers held an eight-day silent protest on wage dispute and asked for the same payment as the White workers (Dong, Hu & Chinese American Society, 2010). The railroad company suppressed this protest by cutting down the food supply channels and not paying their salaries. The owners had the advantage and utilized the labor issues between the Chinese, Irish, Italian, and German immigrants, as well as free Black workers, to foment distrust and unfair competition. Though the company did not concede to the strikers’ demands, it would be a mistake to conclude, as most historical accounts do, that the Chinese “lost.” Even though Chinese workers did not obtain the same pay as White workers, the strike helped them to reduce their extreme working hours and the whipping of Chinese laborers. In addition, the most experienced Chinese laborers received wage increases (Jin, 2019). The company leadership would not forget the confrontation and realized that the workers could never be taken for granted. What is more, it appears that the company also quietly improved pay following the strike (Chang, 2019). After the completion of the railroad construction, many Chinese returned to China with their new fortune. Others stayed and persevered but indeed faced discrimination and denial by American society.
Bibliography
Lu G. (1997) 《美洲华侨史话》商务印书馆, History of Overseas Chinese in the Americas. China: The Commercial Press.
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Golden Spike: During the “Golden Spike Ceremony” on May 10, 1869, the rail lines of the Central Pacific and Union Pacific were joined at Promontory Summit, Utah. Of the 15,000 Chinese workers that comprised almost ninety percent of the Central Pacific labor force, none were visible in the iconic photograph taken on that day.1
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Remittance: The transfer of money sent by migrants to family members and relatives in their home countries.2
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Spike: Railroad spike is applied to fasten steel rail to the railway sleeper and ensure the regular gauge between two rails.3
- What purpose did the Transcontinental Railroad serve for the U.S. economy at that time?
- Why were Chinese workers needed to build the Transcontinental Railroad?
- Why did the Chinese workers want to come to the U.S. to build the railroad?
- What parts of the railroad did the Chinese build? Why?
- Why were the Chinese not included in the completion ceremony photograph at Promontory Point? Why weren’t they given credit for their work for over 100 years?
- How did the railroad impact the Native Americans’ lives, communities and homelands?
- What type of jobs do immigrant and migrant workers take on today?
- Why does the U.S. want to bring in immigrant and migrant workers?
- Why do immigrant and migrant workers continue to come to the United States today?
A. Mapping the Transcontinental Railroad
- Show the video clip. Ask students to read the essay.
- Distribute the Transcontinental Railroad Construct the Facts handout. The purpose of this activity is for students to learn the location of the Transcontinental Railroad.
B. The Chinese Transcontinental Railroad Workers
Have a class discussion on the following:
- What purpose did the Transcontinental Railroad serve for the U.S. economy at the time when slavery was outlawed?
- Why were Chinese workers needed to build the Transcontinental Railroad?
- What parts of the railroad did the Chinese build? What was particular about the region they were working on that required Chinese workers?
- Why were the Chinese not included in the completion ceremony photograph at Promontory Point? Why weren’t they given credit for their work for over 100 years?
- Why did the Chinese workers want to come to the U.S. to build the railroad?
- How did the Chinese contribute to their home country while working abroad?
Activity 2:
The impact of the Transcontinental Railroad
Ask the students to research the impact of the Transcontinental Railroad on Native Americans.
- How did the Transcontinental Railroad impact the U.S. economy?
- How did the railroad impact the Native Americans’ lives, communities and homelands?
Activity 3:
Present Day Immigrant and Migrant Workers
Ask students to research present day immigrant and migrant workers.
- What type of jobs do immigrant and migrant workers take on today?
- Why does the U.S. want to bring in immigrant and migrant workers? Do we need them? Why or why not?
- Why do immigrant and migrant workers continue to come to the United States?
- How do immigrant and migrant workers contribute to their home country while working abroad?
Ambrose, Stephen E. “Nothing Like It in the World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869” (Simon Schuster, 2000).
Chang, Gordon H. “The Chinese and the Iron Road: Building the Transcontinental Railroad” (Stanford University Press, 2019).
California Common Core Standards Addressed
U.S. History Grades 5-12 4.2
How the industrial revolution, increasing immigration, the rapid expansion of slavery, and the westward movement changed the lives of Americans and led toward regional tensions.
U.S. History Grades 5-12 4.2A
The student understands how the factory system and the transportation and market revolutions shaped regional patterns of economic development.
U.S. History Grades 5-12 4.2A.1
Explain how the major technological developments that revolutionized land and water transportation arose and analyze how they transformed the economy, created international markets, and affected the environment. [Analyze cause-and-effect relationships]
U.S. History Grades 5-12 4.2C.1
Analyze the push-pull factors which led to increased immigration, for the first time from China but especially from Ireland and Germany. [Analyze cause-and-effect relationships]
U.S. History Grades 5-12 4.2C.2
Assess the connection between industrialization and immigration. [Analyze cause-and-effect relationships]
U.S. History Grades 5-12 4.2C.3
Explain how immigration intensified ethnic and cultural conflict and complicated the forging of a national identity. [Interrogate historical data]
U.S. History Grades 5-12 4.2B.2
Analyze how rapid urbanization, immigration, and industrialization affected the social fabric of early 19th-century cities. [Analyze cause-and-effect relationships]
U.S. History Grades 5-12 4.2E
The student understands the settlement of the West.
U.S. History Grades 5-12 4.2A.3
Explain how economic policies related to expansion, including northern dominance of locomotive transportation, served different regional interests and contributed to growing political and sectional differences. [Compare and contrast differing sets of ideas]
U.S. History Grades 5-12 4.1C
The student understands the ideology of Manifest Destiny, the nation's expansion to the Northwest, and the Mexican-American War.
U.S. History Grades 5-12 4.1C.1
Explain the economic, political, racial, and religious roots of Manifest Destiny and analyze how the concept influenced the westward expansion of the nation. [Examine the influence of ideas]
U.S. History Grades 5-12 4.1C.3
Analyze United States trading interests in the Far East and explain how they influenced continental expansion to the Pacific. [Analyze cause-and-effect relationships]
U.S. History Grades 5-12 10.2B
The student understands the new immigration and demographic shifts.
U.S. History Grades 5-12 10.2B.1
Analyze the new immigration policies after 1965 and the push-pull factors that prompted a new wave of immigrants. [Analyze cause-and-effect relationships]
U.S. History Grades 5-12 10.2B.2
Identify the major issues that affected immigrants and explain the conflicts these issues engendered. [Identify issues and problems in the past]
U.S. History Grades 5-12 10.2A.2
Analyze the economic and social effects of the sharp increase in the labor force participation of women and new immigrants. [Analyze cause-and-effect relationships]
U.S. History Grades 5-12 10.2A.3
Explain the increase in income disparities and evaluate its social and political consequences. [Analyze cause-and-effect relationships]
World History Grades 5-12 7.3D.1
Analyze the economic and social consequences of rapid population growth in China. [Analyze cause-and-effect relationships]
World History Grades 5-12 7.6
Major global trends from 1750-1914
World History Grades 5-12 7.6A.1
Describe major shifts in world population and urbanization in this era and analyze how such factors as industrialization, migration, changing diets, and scientific and medical advances affected worldwide demographic trends. [Interrogate historical data]
World History Grades 5-12 7.6A.3
Describe major patterns of long-distance migration of Europeans, Africans, and Asians and analyze causes and consequences of these movements. [Analyze cause-and-effect relationships]
College- and Career-Readiness Anchor Standards CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.SL.2
Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
College- and Career-Readiness Anchor Standards CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.SL.4
Present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
College- and Career-Readiness Anchor Standards CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.L.1
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
College- and Career-Readiness Anchor Standards CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.L.6
Acquire and use accurately a range of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when encountering an unknown term important to comprehension or expression.
Grades 7-8 English Language Arts CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7-8.3
Analyze the interactions between individuals, events, and ideas in a text (e.g., how ideas influence individuals or events, or how individuals influence ideas or events).
Grades 9-10 English Language Arts CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.3
Analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, including the order in which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed, and the connections that are drawn between them.
Grades 11-12 English Language Arts CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.3
Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequence of events and explain how specific individuals, ideas, or events interact and develop over the course of the text.
Grade 7-10 English Language Arts CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7-10.8
Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient to support the claims.
Grades 7-12 English Language Arts CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7-12.1.a
Introduce claim(s), acknowledge alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically.
Grades 7-12 English Language Arts CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7-12.2.b
Develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.
Grades 7-12 English Language Arts CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.7-12.1.a
Come to discussions prepared, having read or researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence on the topic, text, or issue to probe and reflect on ideas under discussion.
Grades 7-8 English Language Arts CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.7-8.1.d
Acknowledge new information expressed by others and, when warranted, modify their own views.
Grades 9-12 English Language Arts CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-12.1.d
Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarize points of agreement and disagreement, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views and understanding and make new connections in light of the evidence and reasoning presented.
Grades 7-8 English Language Arts CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.7-8.3
Delineate a speaker’s argument and specific claims, evaluating the soundness of the reasoning and the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.
Grades 9-12 English Language Arts CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-12.3
Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, identifying any fallacious reasoning or exaggerated or distorted evidence.
Grades 7-12 English Language Arts CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.7-12.4
Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with pertinent descriptions, facts, details, and examples; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.
Grades 7-12 English Language Arts CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7-12.3
Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.
Grades 6-10 Literacy in History/Social Studies CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-10.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies.
Grades 11-12 Literacy in History/Social Studies CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including analyzing how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key term over the course of a text.