Brutal Realities Of Being A Chinese Railroad Worker In The 1800s

Daily life for Chinese-American immigrants in the 1800s was made difficult by dangerous, low-paying jobs and discrimination from white Americans. Chinese-American immigrants first came to the States in the 1840s during the California Gold Rush, after which they settled into cities, creating the first American Chinatowns. Later on, they were recruited to help construct the railway system, during which Chinese workers faced hunger, death, and long working hours. Domestic conditions were also difficult, as very few Chinese women had immigrated to the US and those who did were often brought over as sex slaves and forced into prostitution. Nineteenth century Chinese immigrants played an important role in uniting the two coasts of the United States, even though the country itself, in many ways, turned its back on them.

#ChineseLaborers #Railroads #WeirdHistory

[JCasR]

This happened in Canada too. Most of them were deported after the work was completed. The government wouldn’t help them find other jobs, but many ended up staying and starting businesses. This is part of the reason why Vancouver’s China Town is one of the biggest neighborhoods

[kevinconrad]

Missed that a large number of the railroad workers ended up in Mexico because they did not face as much discrimination and could bring their families. There are a number of great Chinese restaurants in Mexicali now because of that

[rodgerrodger]

When the Chinese workers were finished building the railroad across half the country they weren't allowed to ride on it. They had to walk back to their families and homes.
This chapter of our history is highly disturbing. It always bothered me as a child along with the horrors of slavery. We did learn about this in school. I don't know what's taught anymore.

[michaelince]

It’s important for us to understand our, quite often, dark history. Thanks for videos like this

[willardSpirit]

Definitely do more history on Asians in America. Not many people know about this part of American history! Like Filipinos were the Asian immigrants in Louisiana and made huge contributions to our history food and culture.
The brave Japanese American 442nd regiment during WW2 which I'm shocked no has been made for them

[garymarcera]

Great video showing the dark side of the American dream. So sorry for those people and all who were terribly mistreated and discriminated against.

[comusrules]

This is so incredibly sad. It’s amazing these people endured. Sounds impossible that they managed to stay in this country. That’s great perseverance.

[kevinmcqueenie]

It gets tiresome to see how easy it is to make people act badly to other people just for a little bump in their situation.

[jackhackett]

Sad to know that the Chinese were treated poorly whilst working one of the greatest achievements in American history. Maybe they were not properly honored then, but I think anyone who knows a bit of history has all the respect for their contributions to America's growth

[comettamer]

An absolutely tragic part of American history. Thanks, Weird History for bringing it back into the spotlight.

[stillme]

I live in an area of California that has lots of history regarding this. Thanks for this video. Be well.

[paulprecour]

Interesting side note; the Chinese word for 'working party' is 'Gung Ho'. As in 'we were all gung ho to get the job done'. Also, the reason that large Irish populations in American cities (i.e. Boston, New York, San Francisco) are also found near historical 'Chinatowns' is that they are located at Railroad origin/termination points. The Irish were actually the first of the large wave of 'non-American' groups to arrive in the US, but history tells us that alcoholism and higher pay became such an issue with them that the Chinese (specifically Cantonese speaking Chinese, the Mandarin speaking peoples came in larger waves after the Communist purges) were hired to replace them.

[martinromero]

I did not learn this in school, love this channel as I am always learning new things about the history of America.

[dr.barrycohn]

Good presentation. The Chinese suffered tremendous inequalities and suffered from horrific racism in their settlements like in San Francisco. There were also issues in terms of not being able to testify in court.

[E.K.]

My sister had Chinese-American neighbors in her Dallas, Texas suburb whose ancestors had originally immigrated to California to work on the railroad in the 1860s. They were met with such an incredible amount of prejudice, that they moved eastward to Texas and started restaurants and were successful in other enterprises as well. They had a family history book published that included many photographs. They also wore Ten Gallon hats and had charming Texas accents!

[ianfitzpatrick]

There is actually a pretty statue paid for and maintained by the Chinese government here in my town and during Covid I made a point to visit my local historical sites. Most are in the shape of the state but this one was done in Chinese architecture and it commemorates the rail road workers here in the west. Hats off to those hard workers, I know nothing of the jungle but the high desert can feel like hell.

[professorsprout]

Thank you so much for helping us understand this. My town is on Monterey Bay pretty close to SF. I have always been really fascinated by the China towns all over the country. Some were underground even in my town, Please do a segment on Portland Oregon where people got Shaign Highed. Sorry can't spell. The museum here in town explained that each and every Chinese woman was considered a concubine or sex worker even those working in the fishing industry. The racism is and was staggering when we have so much to thank them for.

[chrisharty]

I work for Canadian Pacific Railway... I can't help but think of the history as I walk down the track... the same steps as these took 100s of years ago

[dungeonbrownies]

The exclusion act also lead to Chinese settling in Mexico. Look up the history of chamoy!

[Uzair_Of_Babylon]

Fantastic video keep it up your doing amazing job