The Construction of The Transcontinental Railroad and Chinese Labor

Sergio Adolfo Magallanes Medina

History 1700
summer 2015
Cassandra Clark
July 26 2015

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The construction of The Transcontinental Railroad was an event that transformed

America. It helped connect East and West with an speed never seen before for the times. People
as well as goods were moved from one place to another given way to economic development. It
impacted tremendously the development of America. As such an event, it required the companies
building the railroad to hire thousands of workers. It was such the demand for workers and at the
same time really hard to keep Natives and European workers that The CPRR Company was
forced to hire Chinese laborers. At one point in 1864 the CPRR Company had about 5000 job
openings, with only about 600 positions filled1. This is due to the instability of Natives and
European workers. Where as whites workers would leave the job site when hearing rumors of
gold sites to go prospecting Chinese workers did not leave the job and were a lot more
productive. The narrative of the building of the railroad is mostly thru the lens of white American
men living during this time. The sources used for this paper cover primarily first hand
experience, actually helping build the railroad such us The Report of The Chief Engineer, and
also from Journals, The Southern Pacific bulletin, The golden Spike Magazine, The San
Francisco Newspaper, and the book Beyond The Mississippi. It also covers secondary sources.
These people wrote about the daily experiences of life on the construction site during working
and off times of the workers.

Central Pacific Railroad Photography History Museum. Chinese-American Contribution

to Transcontinental Railroad. CPPR.org all rights reserved 06/22/2015. Central
Pacific Railroad Photography History Museum.
http://www.cprr.org/Museum/Chinese html (Accessed July 2, 2015).
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Even though the sources for the paper are coming from people in different walks of life,
They are all similar in the way that the sources agree on why Chinese workers were used to build
The Transcontinental Railroad, how Chinese workers were threated, and the contribution they
made to the completion of the project. These sources have agreement on that Chinese workers
were needed for The CPRR Company to be able to keep the project going, that Chinese workers
were inferior to white men, and there is also acknowledgement of the fact that without Chinese
labor The CPRR Company would had not been able to complete the project. Names such as The
"Celestials" were used to refer to them, and they were also described as "reliable" and
"dependable". It was used to say that although they were an inferior race, they do have some
qualities such as dependable and industrious.
Now these sources are different because they are written by people from different walks
of life. For example, Sam S. Montague works for the CPRR Company and wrote the Report of
The Chief Engineer Upon Recent Surveys and Progress of the Construction of The Central
Pacific Railroad. It views Chinese labor as a necessity to be able to complete the project on time,
and at the same time, as a way to save money on turn over cost because of their dependability
and also their lower pay. This is a corporate perspective where they are thinking about the bottom
line, how to get this project done and also be profitable. Another source is from George Kraus
which wrote an article on The National Golden Spike called "The Last Spike is Driven: Chinese
Labor and the Construction of The Central Pacific". This article talks about why Chinese workers
were needed. He argues that Chinese labor was used to build the railroad due to the difficulty
railroad administrators faced in hiring and retaining white laborers. It happened sometime after
passing Auburn California. Whites laborers were not reliable, where as Chinese workers were
responsible and productive. Charles Croker states as much on a letter he wrote to his long time

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friend Cornelius Cole in April 12 1865. he writes " you will be astonished by the amount of work
we have done" and later he writes " A large part of our force is Chinese, and they prove nearly
equal as the white men in the amount of work they perform, and they are far more dependable. "2
Here acknowledgement is given to the Chinese workers for saving and completing the railroad.
Looking at the two examples given above, one can deduce that even as the two talk about the
Railroad, it is from a different point of view. One is a corporate view, and the other is a social
view. . This paper will discuss specifically on the reason why Chinese labor was used, the way
Chinese workers were treated, and their contribution to the completion of the railroad.
The first point is about why Chinese labor was used during the construction of the
Transcontinental Railroad. This article Chinese Sojourn Labor and The American
Transcontinental Railroad written by Scott Alan Carson discusses why Chinese workers were
employed by the CPRR Company to build The Transcontinental Railroad, and also how Chinese
workers were treated given the economic realities facing the CPRR Company to finish the
project and be profitable. He focuses on labor Transaction, Demand-side learning, and External
factor such as prejudice. For example, he writes "This paper presents evidence that
administrators were initially averse to employing Chinese workers but learned of their
competence through a demand-side learning process"3. Basically Chinese workers learned on the
job. Since The CPRR Company was shorthanded, they experimented on a small scale with
Chinese workers at first, then expanding the percentage of Chinese workers employed by them.
2 George Kraus, "The last Spike is Driven: The Chinese Labor and the Construction of the
Central Pacific," National Golden Spike Centennial Commission Official Publication, Vol. 37
No. 1 (Winter 1969) pp. 41-57, 06/15/2015.

3 Scott Alan Carson, "Chinese Sojourn Labor and the American Transcontinental Railroad,"
Journal of the Institutional Economics (JITE). Vol. 161 No. 1 (March 2005) pp. 80, 06/15/2015.

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He argues that Chinese workers dependability, productivity, and low ages were the key for
Charles Croker and the railroad administrators to hire them given that Native and European
workers were not reliable and demanded higher wages and benefits. Two factors are at play here
for using Chinese labor. First, The CPRR Company needed to complete the project The
administrators had not other choice but to hire Chinese and keep going or go under. The very
survival of the company was at play here. The CPRR Company was a for profit company and
needed to complete the railroad to be profitable. Second, Chinese wages were lower than the
Natives or European workers. This affected directly the bottom line of the company thus making
it more profitable In essence, Chinese workers were hired because of the necessity the CPRR
Company had of completing the railroad or go under, and once they had Chinese workers on
their payroll the company benefited by their lower wages and higher productivity thus
increasing the company's owners wealth.
The following source is The Report of The Chief Engineer Upon Recent Surveys and
Progress of the Construction of The Central Pacific Railroad by Sam S. Montague. He writes "It
became apparent early in the season, that the amount of labor likely to be required during the
summer could only be supplied by the employment of the Chinese element, of our population.
Some distrust was at first felt regarding the capacity of this class for the service required, but the
experiment has proved eminently successful."4 On this report belonging to the CPRR Company
it is acknowledged that they could not complete the Transcontinental Railroad without Chinese
labor because of their dependability and productivity. Although, administrators reluctantly agreed

4 Montague, Sam S. The Report of the Chief Engineer Upon Recent Surveys and Progress of
the Construction of Central Pacific Railroad. CPPR Report. Sacramento Nov 25th 1865.
Engineers Office CPPR of California.
http://www.cprr.org/Museum/CPRR_1865_Engineering.html (Accessed July 2, 2015).

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to hire Chinese workers, they proved administrators that they were far better workers than the
Natives and European workers. The distrust that existed regarding the Chinese labor was part due
to the prejudice that existed against them during this time, and it was also part concern about
their capacity and capability in doing the job successfully. At the end, Chinese Labor was used
because it proved to be far more reliable because they did not abandoned the job thus reducing
their turn over cost and impacting the bottom line positively.
The second point is about how Chinese worker were treated during the construction of
the Transcontinental Railroad. "The Southern Pacific Bulletin" It is the history of the CPRR
Company during the construction of The Transcontinental Railroad. This bulletin describes the
work progress, life on the construction sites, and the living conditions of the laborers. On the
edition of August 1927, it describes Chinese, American, and European workers going about their
daily routines. specifically, Chinese workers are described as inferior, even though they are the
more productive by far. There is some acknowledgement to them when they are described by the
administrators with words such as systematic and quiet, or workers that do not complaint. This
quote is taken from The End of Track November 1869. For example on this edition it is written
"These were the Chinese... The Chinese who followed the track gang, ballasting and finishing the
road bed. Systematic workers these Chinesecompetent and wonderfully effective because
tireless and unremitting in their industry."5 Even as the Chinese workers were making progress
building the railroad, they are still describe in a way that makes them be less valuable than the
white men. Chinese workers faced the racist views of the time. They were discriminated against

5From Trail to Tail: The Story of the Beginning of Southern Pacific. A history of the Pacific
Company. Bulletin, Southern Pacific Bulletin, monthly installments, 1926-1928.CPPR.org
2003.
http://www.cprr.org/Museum/Southern_Pacific_Bulletin/index.html (Accessed July 2, 2015).

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because they were giving the worst jobs, the most difficult. They also had separated camps for
Chinese and white men.
In "Beyond the Mississippi" by Albert D Richardson. He writes about a visit arranged by
the ex-governor of California in 1867. During the visit Richardson describes the eating habits,
daily life, and performance on the job of the Chinese workers. he is surprised by how
efficient the Chinese workers are. Since the viewed during this time was that the white race was
superior, he calls them Celestials and writes that once they are trained, Chinese do a good job but
always discounting that acknowledgement . On this quote " They swarmed with Celestials,
shoveling, wheeling, carting, drilling and blasting rocks and earth, while their dull, moony eyes
stared out from under immense basket-hats, like umbrellas. At several dining camps we saw
hundreds sitting on the ground, eating soft boiled rice with chopsticks as fast as terrestrials could
with soup-ladles. Irish laborers received thirty dollars per month (gold) and board; Chinese,
thirty-one dollars, boarding themselves. After a little experience the latter were quite as efficient
and far less troublesome."6 First the term Celestial when referring the Chinese workers is
derogatory. Second ,they are described as these little poor things that can not help themselves,
which it was the view white Americans had about Chinese. And third, they were also treated
unfairly because they were paid the same than white workers for the same positon, and had to
paid for food and housing were as for white workers that was paid by The CPRR Company.
Then, this discriminatory and racist.

6 Richardson, Albert D. Beyond the Mississippi: From the Great River to the Great Ocean Life
and Adventure of the
Prairies, Mountain, and The Pacific Coast. Hartford, Conn: American
Publishing Company, 1867.

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The third point is about the contribution Chinese workers made on the completion of The
Transcontinental Railroad. In the "San Francisco Newsletter" there was an article which called
"Transcontinental Railroad Postscript to the San Francisco Newsletter" on this edition of the
Newsletter, it states that the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad would not had ben
possible were not for the Chinese workers. Executives views on Chinese workers by today
standards are racists. However, it was very typical of the time that white people viewed other
races as inferior. For example on a speech in 1869 by a director of the CPRR Company Judge
Edwin Bryant Crocker states " The Railroad we had built has ben in large measure due to the
poor despised class of laborers, called Chinese, to the fidelity and industry they have shown."7
Even as Mr. Croker describe Chinese workers in a derogatory way, during the speech it is
acknowledged that was the main reason The CPRR Company was able to finish the construction
of the railroad is because of the Chinese workers.
In conclusion, American understanding of the construction of The Transcontinental
Railroad is base on white American sources. This distorts the ways immigrants contributed to the
construction of the railroad. Even though the information regarding the construction of the
railroad is coming from people living around the same time, they all come from educated white
Americans men that tell only white side of the story. The viewed then about the Chinese workers
during the construction of the railroad is largely one of white educated people living in America
around this time. Patterns emerged during the construction of The Transcontinental Railroad.
One of the patterns that emerge is that due to the scarcity of Natives and European workers The

7 San Francisco Newsletter. "Transcontinental Railroad Poscript to the San Francisco

Newsletter". Newsletter, Vol 9 No. 15. San Francisco, May 15th 1869. From Central Pacific
Railroad Photography History Museum.
http://www.cprr.org/Museum/Newspapers/SF_Newsletter_1869.html (Accessed July 2, 2015).

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CPRR Company was forced to hire Chinese workers, two even though Chinese workers were
more reliable and productive, they were still discriminated against. Segregated camps were
common for Chinese and Whites, and they were given the worst most difficult jobs, and three
there is discounted acknowledgement from the railroad administrators about the contribution
Chinese workers made to the completion of The Transcontinental Railroad because the writers
give this idea about Chinese workers- "yes although they are an inferior race, they have shown
that they can do the job successfully".

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Bibliography

Primary Sources
http://www.cprr.org/Museum/Chinese.html
Central Pacific Railroad Photography History Museum. Chinese-American
Contribution to Transcontinental Railroad. CPPR.org all rights reserved 06/22/2015.
Central Pacific Railroad Photography History Museum.
http://www.cprr.org/Museum/Chinese html (Accessed July 2, 2015).
http://www.cprr.org/Museum/Southern_Pacific_Bulletin/index.html
From Trail to Tail: The Story of the Beginning of Southern Pacific. A history of the
Pacific
Company. Bulletin, Southern Pacific Bulletin, monthly
installments, 19261928.CPPR.org 2003.
http://www.cprr.org/Museum/Southern_Pacific_Bulletin/index.html (Accessed July 2,
2015).
http://www.cprr.org/Museum/Chinese_Laborers.html
National Golden Spike Centennial Commission Official Publication: The last spike is
driven. Chinese labor and the Construction of the Central Pacific.
George Kraus, "The last Spike is Driven: The Chinese Labor and the Construction of
the Central Pacific," National Golden Spike Centennial Commission Official
Publication, Vol. 37 No. 1 (Winter 1969) pp. 41-57, 06/15/2015.
http://www.cprr.org/Museum/CPRR_1865_Engineering.html
The Report of the Chief Engineer Upon Recent Surveys and Progress of the
Construction of the Central Pacific Railroad.

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Montague, Sam S. The Report of the Chief Engineer Upon Recent Surveys and
Progress of the Construction of the Central Pacific Railroad. CPPR Report.
Sacramento Nov 25th 1865. Engineers Office CPPR of California.
http://www.cprr.org/Museum/CPRR_1865_Engineering.html (Accessed July 2, 2015).

http://www.cprr.org/Museum/Through_to_the_Pacific/Beyond_the_Mississippi.html
Beyond the Mississippi by Albert D. Richardson
Richardson, Albert D. Beyond the Mississippi: From the Great River to the Great
Ocean Life and Adventure of the Prairies, Mountain, and The Pacific Coast. Hartford,
Conn: American Publishing Company, 1867.
http://www.cprr.org/Museum/Newspapers/SF_Newsletter_1869.html
A reporter for the San Francisco Newsletter, May 15th, 1869
San Francisco Newsletter. "Transcontinental Railroad Poscript to the San Francisco
Newsletter". Newsletter, Vol 9 No. 15. San Francisco, May 15th 1869. From Central
Pacific Railroad Photography History Museum.
http://www.cprr.org/Museum/Newspapers/SF_Newsletter_1869.html (Accessed July 2,
2015).
http://www.cprr.org/Museum/Chinese_Syllabus.html
Thomas W. Chinn, Editor, H. Mark Lai, Philip P. Choy, Associate Editors. A history of
the Chinese in California: A syllabus. 17 Adler Place, San Francisco, California
94133. Published by the Chinese Historical Society of America, 1969.

Secondary Sources
Chinese Sojourn Labor and the American Transcontinental Railroad.
Scott Alan Carson, "Chinese Sojourn Labor and the American Transcontinental
Railroad," Journal of the Institutional Economics (JITE). Vol. 161 No. 1 (March 2005)
pp. 80, 06/15/2015.

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