Ethan Vicente - Transcontinental Railroad
Dr. Sean Fraga
GESM130g
April 2021
Pacific Postcard 2
The completion transcontinental railroad is widely considered to be one of the biggest and most impactful events in American history. Connecting the two coast lines of the United States, the railroad was a tool to continue pushing the States to the status of an economic superpower. Obviously the railroad became something of great pride for Americans. It was very exciting for almost everyone. It’s also accepted that it was built primarly with Chinese immigrant workers. These workers were very mistreated and did not get respect from the American companies that employed them. In “Chinese Railroad Workers and the US Transcontinental Railroad in Global Perspective” author Gordon Chang quotes a description of the way Chinese were transported that describes the situation as “if they were culprits who had committed some heinous crime” (Chang 39). Even after the Chinese’ grand contribution had been completed, there was hardly anything done to thank or honor their sacrifices and hard work. In a map from 1883 of the Union Pacific Railway, the section of the transcontinental in Western U.S., there are several small paragraphs scattered around the edge of the map explaining its operations and a little history. However, there is no mention of Chinese contributions. In Chang’s piece, he references that upon the completion of the railroad there was some recognition to the Chinese that helped build the railroad. This recognition appears to be extremely brief and not sufficient for what the Chinese were put through.
To go more in depth into Chang’s writing, he starts with challenging the traditional narrative that the railroad is solely a grand American achievement. He believes that there are a lot of different narratives tied into it. Chang details a “flow of international capital” from all over the world that helped fund the railroad (Chang 28). The transcontinental railroad was thought to connect the entire Western world to the East, and the final planting of the Golden Spike was symbolic of this worldwide connection as it connected the two ends of the railroad in the US. The US celebrated across the country at this accomplishment. Chang goes on to say how there was an initial report on Chinese involvement but it never got published. Chang details how the railroad employed over 10,000 chinese workers directly from China. These workers had to deal with mortality rates of up to 50%.
- Highlight how long it took for Chinese to get deserved recognition
- Struggling to apply my source I may have to try and find another