asian build san francisco railroad story

ASIAN BUILD SAN FRANCISCO RAILROAD STORY TRIAL

The Chinese-American population expanded vastly during the production of the railroad between 10 and 15 thousand Chinese-American workers were employed by Central Pacific during the peak of construction. Many men lost their lives constructing the transcontinental railroad estimates range from 150 to 2,000. The Chinese laborers often did the most dangerous parts of the construction, including the dynamiting of mountain tunnels. They made less than their white counterparts, and in 1867 participated in an (eventually unsuccessful) strike for equal pay. They soon made up the main body of labor for Central Pacific, as the company constructed the hardest stretch of the railroad, through the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

ASIAN BUILD SAN FRANCISCO RAILROAD STORY TRIAL

After a successful trial run where 50 Chinese laborers were tested, the company began hiring them in droves. The railroad company experimented with hiring Chinese laborers, despite racially-driven protests from white workers and foremen. Central Pacific Railroad- a company contracted by Congress- started laying track in 1865, but the primarily white labor pool in California at the time was scarce and unreliable. Chinese immigration to the west coast began in the 1850s, driven by the availability of agricultural and factory jobs newly discovered gold mines in California were an additional draw. The hiring of Chinese-American workers became a crucial part of the construction of the railroad, and in the end had a profound effect on the United States’ development as a nation, its immigration policies, and its Asian-American population. The cart provides insight into the lives and history of this early Asian-American population.Ĭart objects (left to right): engineer's or surveyor's chain soy sauce jug hand drill or star chisel. This significantly decreased their chances of contracting water-borne illnesses, making them much more effective workers. Rather than drink water, they tended to drink either tea or hot water, both of which had been boiled. Not only did it include much more nutrition than the average worker’s diet with the inclusion of dried vegetables, their drinking habits were also different. Immigrants largely maintained a traditional Chinese diet, which served them very well.

One thing that set the Chinese railway workers apart from their American counterparts was their diet this is represented on the gallery cart by a squat, thick ceramic jug that was used to store soy sauce. The cart also illuminates the contributions and experiences of Chinese immigrants, who built the majority of the western part of the railroad amidst challenging conditions and discriminatory practices. The new gallery experience cart at the National Postal Museum provides visitors the opportunity to engage with objects involved in the construction of the railroad, such as the measuring chains used by surveyors, hand drills, chisels, and railroad spikes. Railroad spike hammer featured in gallery experience cart. The idea of uniting the country with a railroad was born in the middle of the 19th century, and two companies began working on this monumental undertaking in the 1860s Union Pacific Railroad starting from Omaha moving east, and Central Pacific Railroad starting in Sacramento and working their way west. As the west coast of the United States became more and more populated, aided by the 1849 California Gold Rush, the vast geographic distance between population areas became a barrier to the movement of people and information. The story of postal history in this country is very much one of communication and the spread of both mail and information, with the railroad being integral to that story. ©USPS all rights reserved.Ģ019 marks 150 years since the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad. Transcontinental Railroad Forever stamps, issued May 10, 2019.

Asian build san francisco railroad story