What was the primary reason that Canada chose to have Chinese workers build the western portion of the Canadian Pacific Railway?

Chinese workers were employed for several reasons. The most important reason was that, before the railroad was built, the easiest way to bring large numbers of labourers to British Columbia was by water across the Pacific or northwards from California.

Why did the Chinese build the railroad in Canada?

Many Asians were brought to Canada to provide cheap labour. More than 15,000 Chinese came over in the early 1880s to build the most dangerous and difficult section of the Canadian Pacific Railway. One worker died for every mile of track lay through the Rocky Mountains between Calgary and Vancouver.

Why were the Chinese used to build the railroads?

He told President Andrew Johnson that the Chinese were indispensable to building the railroad: They were “quiet, peaceable, patient, industrious and economical.” In a stockholder report, Stanford described construction as a “herculean task” and said it had been accomplished thanks to the Chinese, who made up 90% of the ...

What did the Chinese help build in Canada?

They laboured under appalling conditions to build the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). Between 1880 and 1885, 15,000 Chinese labourers completed the British Columbia section of the CPR, with more than 600 perishing under adverse working conditions.

When did the Chinese build the railroad in Canada?

Between 1881 and 1885, over 17,000 Chinese men came to Canada to work as labourers on the construction of the western section of the transcontinental railroad. Chinese workers were mostly concentrated on a 250-mile section in British Columbia contracted out to Andrew Onderdonk.

Canadian Steel, Chinese Grit (Excerpt) - Chinese Labour in Constructing the Canadian Pacific Railway

Why did the Chinese come to Canada?

Chinese immigrants were originally considered an expendable source of cheap labour due to their economic depression and acceptance of death from Canadian employers. Between 1880 and 1885, the primary work for Chinese labourers in Canada was on the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR).

What was the purpose of the Canadian Pacific Railway?

The railway was very important for the success of Canada as a nation. It would transport immigrant settlers to the Prairies and British Columbia. It would transport goods from west to east and east to west. And it would stop Americans from laying claim to the Prairies.

What was the main reason for Chinese immigration?

Chinese immigrants first flocked to the United States in the 1850s, eager to escape the economic chaos in China and to try their luck at the California gold rush. When the Gold Rush ended, Chinese Americans were considered cheap labor.

When did the Chinese build the railroad?

According to the Chinese Railroad Workers Project, Central Pacific started with a crew of 21 Chinese workers in January 1864. Chinese laborers at work on construction for the railroad built across the Sierra Nevada Mountains, circa 1870s.

What did the Chinese railway workers do?

They were employed to build the B.C. segment of the railway through the most challenging and dangerous terrain. Chinese workers were paid $1.00 a day, and from this $1.00, they had to pay for their food and gear. White workers were paid $1.50 to $2.50 per day and did not have to pay for provisions.

Why was the transcontinental railroad built?

The transcontinental railroad was built to open up the interior and allow settlement in these areas, to make rural and unexplored areas accessible, and to ease the transportation of both goods and passengers from one area to another.

How did westward expansion affect Chinese immigrants?

Prohibited by law since 1790 from obtaining U.S. citizenship through naturalization, Chinese immigrants faced harsh discrimination and violence from American settlers in the West.

How did Chinese immigrants contribute to the opening of the West?

Chinese immigrants were particularly instrumental in building railroads in the American west, and as Chinese laborers grew successful in the United States, a number of them became entrepreneurs in their own right.

Did Chinese people build railroads?

Chinese workers were an essential part of building the Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR), the western section of the first transcontinental railroad across the United States.

Why did Chinese workers first come to America apex?

First of all, they arrived in America looking to strike it rich with hopes of being to send money back to their poor families, or of returning to China after a few years with newly acquired wealth. Another reason is America served as a symbol of something higher than monetary prosperity.

Who built the Union Pacific railroad?

Union Pacific in the 19th century

The combined Union Pacific–Central Pacific line became known as the First Transcontinental Railroad and later the Overland Route. The line was constructed primarily by Irish labor who had learned their craft during the recent Civil War.

Why did Chinese immigrants come to the United States in the nineteenth century quizlet?

Chinese immigrants in the 19th century worked as laborers, particularly on the transcontinental railroad, such as the Central Pacific Railroad. This treaty with China was ratified in 1868. It encouraged Chinese immigration to the United States at a time when cheap labor was in demand for U.S. railroad construction.

Why did Chinese immigrate to America in the 1800s?

Chinese immigration into the United States during the 1800's was prompted by instability in China due to the Opium War and the Gam Saan, or the 'Gold Mountain' of the 1848 California Gold Rush.

What was one contribution of Chinese immigrants to the United States?

Although the Chinese immigrants in the late nineteenth century faced many hardships, they had a profound effect on America. Primarily, the Chinese supplied the labor for America's growing industry. Chinese factory workers were important in California especially during the Civil War.

How the Canadian Pacific Railway was built?

The railway was originally built between eastern Canada and British Columbia between 1881 and 1885 (connecting with Ottawa Valley and Georgian Bay area lines built earlier), fulfilling a promise extended to British Columbia when it entered Confederation in 1871. It was Canada's first transcontinental railway.

How did the Canadian Pacific Railway impact First Nations in the North West territories?

For some, the coming of the railway meant the end of a way of life. First Nations lost their traditional territories, being forced onto reserves to make room for newly arriving settlers. The Métis lost their rights as government troops moved speedily by rail to quash the 1885 uprising.

Why was the railway important to Confederation?

In exchange for joining the Canadian Confederation, provinces were promised a railway link. Construction of the railway would provide work for hundreds of thousands people, in addition to establishing Canada's reputation abroad and encouraging colonization.

What was the intent of Westward Expansion?

Gold rush and mining opportunities (silver in Nevada) The opportunity to work in the cattle industry; to be a “cowboy” Faster travel to the West by railroad; availability of supplies due to the railroad. The opportunity to own land cheaply under the Homestead Act.

What started westward expansion?

Westward expansion, the 19th-century movement of settlers into the American West, began with the Louisiana Purchase and was fueled by the Gold Rush, the Oregon Trail and a belief in "manifest destiny."

What did Chinese immigrants do for work?

Many of the shops, restaurants, and laundries in the growing mining towns of California were operated by Chinese immigrants. Chinese immigrants also played an important role in developing much of the farm land of the western U.S., including the plantations of Hawaii and the vineyards of California.