Chinese Labor In The West Essay
Chinese Laborers Surviving and Thriving in the West
Americans usually discredit the Chinese in the founding of America. However the Chinese put a large amount of work into helping construct the western part of the United States. In addition, they personally may have suffered more than Americans in the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad. In fact, some could argue that the Chinese laborers had the most difficulty surviving and thriving in the west due to natural dangers, economic deprivation, and social threats.
One of the many ways that the Chinese suffered during the construction was through natural dangers. A natural danger during the time would be the absolutely brutal blizzards that halted their work. One engineer during the time named John Gillis said, “No one can face these storms when they are in their earnest.”(“FAQ’s”). He might have been right considering that one winter had a total of 44 blizzards. Two of which were six feet tall at the Chinese level construction level, and over 18 feet at the …show more content…
One of the big social threats that the Chinese had to deal with was fear of attacks from the Cheyenne tribe. Some people even created the term “Indian menace”(“Native Americans and the Transcontinental Railroad”). This term described the fear from the Chinese about the dangers of Natives, and the Cheyenne actually sabotaged the railroad twice making the term somewhat valid. Although there were Native American threats, it was nothing close to white people's discrimination. A politician once famously said that the Chinese were “The dregs of Asia”(“Nothing Like it in the World”). Which is horrible enough coming from one person, but the discrimination was so bad that they were forced to pay taxes, yet the taxes did not even cover themselves. Even at the beginning of the construction the contractors refused to hire immigrants to work on the
Americans usually discredit the Chinese in the founding of America. However the Chinese put a large amount of work into helping construct the western part of the United States. In addition, they personally may have suffered more than Americans in the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad. In fact, some could argue that the Chinese laborers had the most difficulty surviving and thriving in the west due to natural dangers, economic deprivation, and social threats.
One of the many ways that the Chinese suffered during the construction was through natural dangers. A natural danger during the time would be the absolutely brutal blizzards that halted their work. One engineer during the time named John Gillis said, “No one can face these storms when they are in their earnest.”(“FAQ’s”). He might have been right considering that one winter had a total of 44 blizzards. Two of which were six feet tall at the Chinese level construction level, and over 18 feet at the …show more content…
One of the big social threats that the Chinese had to deal with was fear of attacks from the Cheyenne tribe. Some people even created the term “Indian menace”(“Native Americans and the Transcontinental Railroad”). This term described the fear from the Chinese about the dangers of Natives, and the Cheyenne actually sabotaged the railroad twice making the term somewhat valid. Although there were Native American threats, it was nothing close to white people's discrimination. A politician once famously said that the Chinese were “The dregs of Asia”(“Nothing Like it in the World”). Which is horrible enough coming from one person, but the discrimination was so bad that they were forced to pay taxes, yet the taxes did not even cover themselves. Even at the beginning of the construction the contractors refused to hire immigrants to work on the