CHINESE AMERICANS AND THE TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD

1863 – 1869

In the nineteenth century, the United States had a doctrine known as the Manifest Destiny, the popularly held belief that the U.S. was destined by God to expand its territory. It was this belief that inspired the Transcontinental Railroad, a continuous railroad line that would run from Omaha, Nebraska to Sacramento, California. The Central Pacific began construction in California, with plans of laying the track westward and crossing the Sierra Mountains. Prejudices against Chinese immigrants made leaders of the Central Pacific hesitant to hire them. However, when it became increasingly difficult to recruit workers, they turned to the Chinese-American community. Averaging at 4'10" and 120 pounds, these Chinese Americans made up at least eighty percent of the Central Pacific's workforce. They endured the grueling cold of the mountains, the severe heat of the desert, lower wages compared to their Irish counterpart, as well as being subject to racial slurs and discrimination. Unlike the white workers, Chinese laborers were expected to find their own food and shelter, often leading them to live in the underground tunnels. More than a thousand died in avalanches and accidents. 

Instead of being rewarded for helping the nation fulfill a dream, prejudice against Chinese Americans heightened as their population grew. This eventually culminated in the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.