The Chinese workers were always treated inferior to the whites. The Chinese received less pay, had to work longer hours than the whites did, and got the riskier jobs. Jobs like setting explosives and mining in dangerous situations were always reserved for the minority. Eventually, the Chinese reached a breaking point and started to demand better conditions and to be treated equal. When the company owners refused, they decided to go on strike.
This strike however, was very different than the ones that happened with other groups. On June 25, 1867, some 5000 workers from the Central Pacific Railroad company decided to peacefully sit and refuse to work until they got what they wanted. The company directors were scared of all the profits they were losing, so they cut off all supplies to the Chinese until they started to work again. After nearly a month of making little progress on the project without any food, the Chinese started to work again, but without any progress on their status. They were still guaranteed the same pay, same hours, and same rights.
This story hasn’t been talked about much in history, it is often overlooked and ignored. However, nearly 145 years after the incident, one Chinese photographer set out to honor those workers who were never recognized by history. The original golden spike picture was a picture of the two railroads meeting at one point, but only included white workers. Corky Lee decided to create a picture which included the descendants of many workers who were never recognized by history. Even though not many people cared about this back in the 1800s, it’s nice to see that now people do care about the conditions that the Chinese faced.
Sources:
https://www.uscitizenship.info/Chinese-immigration-and-the-Transcontinental-railroad/
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/150-years-ago-chinese-railroad-workers-staged-era-s-largest-n774901
http://web.stanford.edu/group/chineserailroad/cgi-bin/wordpress/faqs/
https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/05/10/311157404/descendants-of-chinese-laborers-reclaim-railroads-history
I liked how you talked about Corky Lee at the end and that more attention was called to the incident through photography. The Chinese were really paid far less than white workers, $31 vs $40, and additionally had to pay for their own food, housing, and tools. Even though the Chinese made up a huge percentage of laborers working on the railroad, they were treated as far inferior.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/150-years-ago-chinese-railroad-workers-staged-era-s-largest-n774901
I thought it was really interesting how they protested peacefully when they were oppressed so much. I also found it intriguing that you talked about the picture that was taken to honor those who worked on the railroad. I think it really shows how even they weren't appreciated when the railroad was built, people, over time, were able to come together and celebrate the countless hours of work that was put in.
ReplyDeleteI liked the pictures you added to your blog post it showed how a lot of people can come together peacefully and do something like this. Even though I wasn't shocked that the Chinese were paid less, this article really brought some factual evidence of the unequal treatment of Chinese people during that time.
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