NOT WITHOUT SETBACKS

Even though the approval of this project was monumental in itself, the railroad faced many barriers that plagued its workers and management.

The Union Pacific Railroad created an additional company called “Crédit Mobilier of America” with a nefarious purpose. They would contract the railroad construction to this company and give shares of it to influential congressmen. These congressmen, in turn, would approve federal funding for construction. This arrangement meant that Union Pacific was paying itself to build the railroad at exorbitant prices. Luckily, this scam was caught, but with a toll of hundreds of miles of unfinished railroad and money that mysteriously vanished (into the pocketbooks of those involved).

Constructing the railroad was not an easy task. The transcontinental railroad workforce consisted mostly of Civil War veterans and immigrants (Chinese and Irish). The workers that faced the most problems were the Chinese because of flagrant discrimination and racism. After the 1849 gold rush, laws were put into place to deny their civil rights and ability to find good work. As a result of this, many of the workers held strikes, causing delays in construction.

Workers were also subject to Native American attacks as the railroad was encroaching on their land. These events meant that the United States Military would have to get involved. As battles were waged, construction was further impeded.

The Effects of the Transcontinental on the Chinese and Native Americans

Kritzer, Lauren, director. Transcontinental Railroad and the American West. Transcontinental Railroad and the American West, Youtube.com, 15 Apr. 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CdAzizWiyI.

Page Header Image Source: Chinese workers building a cut and a bank at Sailor's Spur in the Sierra foothills for the Central Pacific Railroad in California, 1866, https://www.history.com/.image/c_limit,cs_srgb,q_auto:good,w_700/MTYzOTYzOTU2MzgwMDUxMTY5/railroad-chinese-immigrants-gettyimages-163656736.webp