The Asians of the Railroads
Have you ever driven on one of the highways in America that span most, if not the whole United States? You know, the I-10, the I-90, or even the I-5 that spans from the southern to the northern borders? Those have been super helpful in creating not only transportation for the millions of Americans every day, but it also encourages economic growth and expansion off living into different parts of the world. But have you ever wondered, what was the very first type of “border to border” roadway attempt?
For that, we have to look back at the Transcontinental Railroad. The Transcontinental Railroad was an idea sparked by inventors and dreamers in order for the post-Industrial Revolution America to have a means of connecting the east and western coasts of the United States. The work put into the job was grueling and hard, but the finished product ended up spanning from the coast of California to the tip of Nebraska, where it connected to other pre-produced railroads.[1]
But how was this amazingly crazy railroad built? There was a lot of manpower required to create this marvel, and luckily there was a large amount of people willing to do it. There was a large influx of Asian immigrants that came to the United States due to a variety of reasons, but mostly because the California Gold Rush had drawn them there. The prospect of earning quick money and living in the US brought traders and immigrants looking for new homes too. By the 1860s they had founded a solid foothold in California.
Little “Chinatowns” started popping up everywhere and soon were the major hubs for Asian immigrants to group up. On the website compendium titled “Chinese in California” they describe the San Francisco Chinatown as “the oldest, largest, and most visually recognizable urban Chinese American enclave.”[2] It was touted as a place where the Asian cultures could come together and be expressed in a way similar to that of their homeland.
When it came time for the railroad to be constructed, the intent was for the railroad companies to hire in masses in order to ramp up production to get it done as soon as possible. Luckily, there was an influx of Asian workers due to the Gold Rush, so many workers could be hired to work it. And work it, they did. The jobs were dangerous, long and hard. They spent days and nights in high mountain ranges and harsh conditions, in danger of freezing, explosions, sickness, and in general the wilderness around them, the workers did their jobs efficiently.
The Asian workers were speedy and could get the job done much better and faster than their other co-workers. Their feats did not go unnoticed during the construction either. As the South Pacific Bulletin commented on later in 1928, “one day the Union Pacific broke all records by laying six miles of track. Charles Crocker and his Chinese ‘pets’ were invited to match that. They beat it by a mile.”[3]
Unfortunately, there was no shortages of problems regarding race either. Construction of the railroad lasted throughout the Civil war from start to finish and beyond. The workers on the railroad, although not slaves themselves, still felt the twinge of racism and segregation. One of the main reasons that the workers were hired at such a massive scale was because of the pay. The railroad companies paid the Asian workers almost half of what the other workers were being paid, and were still expected to do 100% of their work. If that wasn’t enough, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 sought to bar entry for Asian immigrants from the country and strip them of further rights.
Despite all of the hardships and toils, the railroad proved to be a massive success. The Asian immigrants who built the massive railroad expanded their reach into other parts of the United States, as having to pay for their own room and board made their residency on the job somewhat personal. Other small Chinatowns started popping up across the US, and soon their culture was shared with the country.
[1] “Westward Expansion First Transcontinental Railroad.” Ducksters. Last modified , 2021.
[2] “Chinese in California, 1850–1920,” Berkley.edu, 2005.
[3] Erle Heath. “A Railroad Record that Defies Defeat.” Southern Pacific Bulletin, May 1928, 3–5.