Chinese-Americans and the Transcontinental Railroad

The Transcontinental Railroad was a dream of a country set on the concept of Manifest Destiny. In 1869, the dream was made a reality at Promontory Point, Utah with the connection of two railway lines. The Union Pacific began construction of their rail in Omaha, Nebraska working toward the west. The Central Pacific began in Sacramento, California working toward the East. The Transcontinental Railroad was a vision of a country but was put into practice by the Big Four: Collis P. Huntington, Charles Cocker, Leland Stanford, and Mark Hopkins. Benefits of the Transcontinental Railroad The benefits of this railroad were enormous for the country and the businesses involved. The railroad companies received between 16,000 and 48,000 per mile of track in land grants and subsidies. The nation gained a quick passage from east to west. A trek that used to take four to six months could be accomplished in six days. However, this great American accomplishment could not have been achieved without the extraordinary effort of Chinese-Americans. The Central Pacific realized the enormous task ahead of them in the construction of the railroad. They had to cross the Sierra Mountains with an incline of 7,000 feet over only a 100-mile span. The only solution to the daunting task was a great deal of manpower, which quickly turned out to be in short supply. Chinese-Americans and the Building of the Railroad   The Central Pacific turned to the Chinese-American community as a source of labor. In the beginning, many questioned the ability of these men that averaged 4 10 and only weighed 120 lbs. to do the work necessary. However, their hard work and abilities quickly allayed any fears. In fact, at the time of completion, the vast majority of workers from the Central Pacific were Chinese. The Chinese worked under grueling and treacherous conditions for less money than their white counterparts. In fact, while the white workers were given their monthly salary (about $35) and food and shelter, the Chinese immigrants received only their salary (about $26-35). They had to provide their own food and tents. The railroad workers blasted and scraped their way through the Sierra Mountains at great risk to their lives. They used dynamite and hand tools while hanging over the sides of cliffs and mountains. Unfortunately, the blasting was not the only detriment they had to overcome. The workers had to endure the extreme cold of the mountain and then the extreme heat of the desert. These men deserve a great deal of credit for accomplishing a task many believed impossible. They were recognized at the end of the arduous task with the honor of laying the last rail. However, this small token of esteem paled in comparison to the accomplishment and the future ills they were about to receive. Prejudice Increased After the Completion of the Railroad There had always been a great deal of prejudice towards the Chinese-Americans but after the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad, it only became worse. This prejudice came to a crescendo in the form of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which suspended immigration for ten years. Over the next decade, it was passed again and eventually, the Act was renewed indefinitely in 1902, thus suspending Chinese immigration. Furthermore, California enacted numerous discriminatory laws including special taxes and segregation. Praise for the Chinese-Americans is long overdue. The government over the last couple of decades is beginning to recognize the significant achievements of this important segment of the American population. These Chinese-Americans railroad workers helped to fulfill the dream of a nation and were integral in the improvement of America. Their skill and perseverance deserve to be recognized as an accomplishment that changed a nation.

Dust Bowl of the 1930s - 911 Words

The Dust Bowl of the 1930’s had such an antagonistic effect on the United States economy that was already plummeting. The Dust Bowl affected the U.S economy in just about every way possible ranging from agriculture to finances including government expenses to population changes. This phenomena can be considered as one of the worst natural disasters that has affected the United States. The â€Å"Dust Bowl† was the name given to the Great Plains region that was greatly affected by drought in the 1930’s during the Great Depression. The major contribution that led to the Dust Bowl was overproduction of crops however there were some natural causes. â€Å"Much of the soil there had been damaged by wind and rain. The soil in this area was subjected to†¦show more content†¦This program put young men to work to perform public jobs including planting trees and helping soil erosion. The United States government spent unprecedented amounts of money to recover from the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. â€Å"The magnitude of the droughts of the 1930s, combined with the Great Depression, led to unprecedented government relief efforts. Congressional actions in 1934 alone accounted for relief expenditures of $525 million, the total cost would be impossible to determine† (National Drought Mitigation Center, online). Despite all the negative effects of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression there were a few positives. For one thing all the government sponsored programs provided jobs and a source of income for those who were unemployed. Also the Roosevelt era marked the beginning of large-scale aid. This also ushered in some of the first long-term, proactive programs to reduce future vulnerability to drought (National Drought Mitigation Center, online). The Dust Bowl was one of the worst natural disasters that has affected the United States. This disaster along with the Great Depression had negative influences on agriculture, state populati ons, and finances including individual families and the government. However, in the face of all this commotion a few positive results occurred. People found jobs and a source of income and the government was able to bring the nation out of turmoil. Work Cited Danzer, GeraldShow MoreRelatedMistreatment of Land, Natural Disaster, and Drought Created the Dust Bowl in America558 Words   |  3 PagesThe Dust Bowl was a time period in which many dust storms affected the agriculture and economy of the United States. Before the dust storms and droughts, the land being used by the farmers was already being damaged. Overuse had caused the soil to become useless, and by over-cultivating the land, farmers were no longer able to use the once fertile soil, causing a major impact on the lives of those involved in agriculture. Before the infamous Dust Bowl, the lands to the West were unknown until theRead MoreDust Bowl Bt Donald Worster Essay764 Words   |  4 PagesDust Bowl: Donald Worster The 1930s are a decade marked by devastation; the nation was in an economic crisis, millions of people were going hungry, and jobless. America was going through some dark times. But if you were living in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas (or any of those surrounding states) you had bigger things on your mind than being denied the money in your bank account. From 1935-1939 Winds and dust storms had left a good portion of our country desolate; however our author takes a slightlyRead MoreThe Dust Bowl Of The Great West1172 Words   |  5 PagesWombles English 1302 September 21, 2015 The Dust Bowl Imagine a great wall closing in on you with nowhere to run. Imagine sweeping a floor of sand that will never go away. Imagine having a terrible cough that leaves your throat irritated and raw to the point where you are coughing up blood. 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The problems that the people of the Dust Bowl dealt with however were not a result of the Depression as a whole but instead were the result of a combination of bad farming decisions and a horrible drought. Even though the timing makes it seem like the Dust Bowl experience in the 1930’s was a part of the Great Depression as a whole it was a totally different disaster that was occurring at the same time. The experience of the families that lived in the Dust Bowl during the 1930’s cannotRead MoreThe Dark Skies Were Filled With Soil And Dust That Rained1246 Words   |  5 Pages The dark skies were filled with soil and dust that rained down on the American Midwest. These powerful black blizzards would label this period of time as the Dirty Thirties or Dust Bowl. At the beginning of the 1930s, the Great Plains farmers were the most successful in the nation. As one of the worst man-made disasters the widespread farming used harsh farming techniques that exposed the topsoil. 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The Dust Bowl was a brutal time period in Midwestern history; farmers were pushed off their land and forced to find new homes in new states. On a website called Drought Disasters, sponsored by Browing University, it was written â€Å"the seeds of the Dust Bowl may have been sown during the early 1920s. However, overproduction of wheat coupled with theRead MoreThe Cause Of The Dust Bowl1181 Words   |  5 Pages16 October 2017  Outline Thesis: The Dust Bowl of the 1930s forever changed how Americans thought of and treated our farm lands in the Great Plains. Introduction I. Causes of the Dust Bowl A. The Drought in the Great Plains B. Improper Tending of the Land II. People Affected by the Dust Bowl A. Lawrence Srobin, Aris D. Carlson, and John Steinbeck B. Statistics of the Damage C. Farmer’s Problems Before the Dust Bowl III. FDR’s Fix for the Dust Bowl A. Strategic Planting of Trees in theRead MoreDust Bowl Essay1233 Words   |  5 PagesThe Dust Bowl was a treacherous storm, which occurred in the 1930s, that affected the midwestern people, for example the farmers, and which taught us new technologies and methods of farming. As John Steinbeck wrote in his 1939 novel The Grapes of Wrath: And then the dispossessed were drawn west- from Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico; from Nevada and Arkansas, families, tribes, dusted out. Carloads, caravans, homeless and hungry; twenty thousand and fifty thousand and a hundred thousand and two

Outline Howard Spodek Free Essays

The creation of writing in Egypt was very close to the creation of writing in Mesopotamia – may have learned it from Egypt Developed their own script – Hieroglyphs (Sacred carvings) Wrote of stone tablets, limestone flakes, pottery, and papyrus Used of business and administration Unification and the Rule of Kings The king lists, records the noses of Upper Egypt Didn’t care about race or ethnicity Color of their skin reflected gender Females – workers at home were painted a lighter color Males -? workers outside were painted a darker color Menses or Manners were known as the same person Menses† symbolized unification Kings became very powerful (Gods) With more kings this created more tombs and uneven distribution of wealth Early civilization included national religious ideology The Gods, the Unification of Egypt, and the Afterlife Souris represented order and virtue, but his brother Seth represented disorder and evil Seth put Souris in a box and sent him down the Nile Isis got the box and saved him Seth got Souris again and cut him into 14 pieces and sent them don’t the river Isis got them all and put them back together and saved him Souris conceived a son, Hours Hours defeated Seth in a battle Hours was often depicted as a falcon on top of the kings Afterlife inspired mummification Afterlife was seen as a place for important people Cities of the Dead Things such as shrines, burial sites were most prominent in Egyptian culture Tombs in Abodes were called â€Å"Maestros† Kings Were buried with furniture, food, weapons, anything they needed for the afterlife Tombs near Square had copper objects and stone vessels Women of Elite families were buried in pyramids, such as Misshapenness 2 The Growth of Cities No existing city-states, had small self generated communities Economies are based off of cereal crops Selected cities were spaced strategically and eventually grew in to full-fledged cities Administration head quarters had given a big boost to the communities they were in 2 cemeteries served 1 city; 1 for common people and 1 for more wealth people Irrigation saved agriculture and helped in severe drought Sha ded Irrigation is when buckets bring water from a river to man made irrigation chance Nell Fewer water problems then Mesopotamia Cities supposedly flourished from its temple community Irrigation + Administration + Worship-? City The Nile Valley provided an adequate natural shield Thebes is the most monumental site The Nile Delta connected Egypt to the outside world Ports were drop off points for trade being sent on donkey of on a small little boat Monumental Architecture of the Old Kingdom: Pyramids and Fortresses Increasing power created more monumental architecture The administrative organization and economic productivity contain due to increase until the end of the Dynasty. Egypt artistic genius continued to develop the sculpture of its tombs. Architects realized the beauty of filling in the Steps Of the pyramids to create a triangular form. We will write a custom essay sample on Outline Howard Spodek or any similar topic only for you Order Now Tombs of the queens are situated within proximity of the kings. Tomb robbing were quite frequent. Architectural, spiritual, political and military accomplishments date to the millennium we now call Early Dynastic. The Disintegration of the Old Kingdom Monarchs collected and kept taxes for themselves. The Nile did not reach optimal flood heights and affected agriculture. The Rise and the Fall of the Middle Kingdom King Menthol of Thebes defeated his rivals in the north and reunited the mining. Trade was revived. Fine arts and literature flourished Started to have invasions of the Hooks Kathleen, Capital City of King Kathleen Modern excavations at Marin unearthed the ruins of an ancient Egyptian capital. King Annotate challenged the order of Egypt by adopting a new monotheistic religion. Senate made a city where he, his wife and their six daughters practiced the new religion. The eccentricity of the ruler was reflected in the cities sculptures, architecture, and painting. His isolated position threatened the stability of Egypt empire. The Roots of the Indus Valley Civilization In 1 856 British rulers were supervising construction of a railway and as they were working on it they found thousands of old bricks. They also found stones with artistic designs on them. Many scholars assumed that the Indus valley people learned the art of City buildings from the Sumerians and other people in Mesopotamia. We can make educated guesses about the function and meaning Of remaining artifacts and physical structures. Arts and Crafts Included pottery, dying, metalworking, and beading. Small sculptures are in stone, or terra cotta. Cotton is the first known use for a fiber in weaving textiles. Carefully Planned Cities The two largest settlements are Harp and Enjoy-dark were very similar. Each city held about 40,000 people. The town plan was orderly and regular (even baskets were all uniform in size and shape. ) The regularity Of plans suggests a very organized government and bureaucratic capacity. Excavations at Dollars revealed immense gates at the principal entrances of the city. Legacies of the Harpoon Civilization Most records involve literary and artistic forms. New ecology is based on rice cultivation and the use of iron. The Aryan groups grew skilled and powerful as they move East. The Cities of the Nile and the Indus, What difference do they make? Along the Nile, they are part of a single state that is unified about 3,000 B. C. E. They formed the core of an Imperial state. We learn the significance of archeological and textual study is unearthing. Records can show alliances between rulers and priests. Without text we have no record of religious, philosophical, legal, or administrative systems in the Indus valley. How to cite Outline Howard Spodek, Papers

Outline Howard Spodek Free Essays

The creation of writing in Egypt was very close to the creation of writing in Mesopotamia – may have learned it from Egypt Developed their own script – Hieroglyphs (Sacred carvings) Wrote of stone tablets, limestone flakes, pottery, and papyrus Used of business and administration Unification and the Rule of Kings The king lists, records the noses of Upper Egypt Didn’t care about race or ethnicity Color of their skin reflected gender Females – workers at home were painted a lighter color Males -? workers outside were painted a darker color Menses or Manners were known as the same person Menses† symbolized unification Kings became very powerful (Gods) With more kings this created more tombs and uneven distribution of wealth Early civilization included national religious ideology The Gods, the Unification of Egypt, and the Afterlife Souris represented order and virtue, but his brother Seth represented disorder and evil Seth put Souris in a box and sent him down the Nile Isis got the box and saved him Seth got Souris again and cut him into 14 pieces and sent them don’t the river Isis got them all and put them back together and saved him Souris conceived a son, Hours Hours defeated Seth in a battle Hours was often depicted as a falcon on top of the kings Afterlife inspired mummification Afterlife was seen as a place for important people Cities of the Dead Things such as shrines, burial sites were most prominent in Egyptian culture Tombs in Abodes were called â€Å"Maestros† Kings Were buried with furniture, food, weapons, anything they needed for the afterlife Tombs near Square had copper objects and stone vessels Women of Elite families were buried in pyramids, such as Misshapenness 2 The Growth of Cities No existing city-states, had small self generated communities Economies are based off of cereal crops Selected cities were spaced strategically and eventually grew in to full-fledged cities Administration head quarters had given a big boost to the communities they were in 2 cemeteries served 1 city; 1 for common people and 1 for more wealth people Irrigation saved agriculture and helped in severe drought Sha ded Irrigation is when buckets bring water from a river to man made irrigation chance Nell Fewer water problems then Mesopotamia Cities supposedly flourished from its temple community Irrigation + Administration + Worship-? City The Nile Valley provided an adequate natural shield Thebes is the most monumental site The Nile Delta connected Egypt to the outside world Ports were drop off points for trade being sent on donkey of on a small little boat Monumental Architecture of the Old Kingdom: Pyramids and Fortresses Increasing power created more monumental architecture The administrative organization and economic productivity contain due to increase until the end of the Dynasty. Egypt artistic genius continued to develop the sculpture of its tombs. Architects realized the beauty of filling in the Steps Of the pyramids to create a triangular form. We will write a custom essay sample on Outline Howard Spodek or any similar topic only for you Order Now Tombs of the queens are situated within proximity of the kings. Tomb robbing were quite frequent. Architectural, spiritual, political and military accomplishments date to the millennium we now call Early Dynastic. The Disintegration of the Old Kingdom Monarchs collected and kept taxes for themselves. The Nile did not reach optimal flood heights and affected agriculture. The Rise and the Fall of the Middle Kingdom King Menthol of Thebes defeated his rivals in the north and reunited the mining. Trade was revived. Fine arts and literature flourished Started to have invasions of the Hooks Kathleen, Capital City of King Kathleen Modern excavations at Marin unearthed the ruins of an ancient Egyptian capital. King Annotate challenged the order of Egypt by adopting a new monotheistic religion. Senate made a city where he, his wife and their six daughters practiced the new religion. The eccentricity of the ruler was reflected in the cities sculptures, architecture, and painting. His isolated position threatened the stability of Egypt empire. The Roots of the Indus Valley Civilization In 1 856 British rulers were supervising construction of a railway and as they were working on it they found thousands of old bricks. They also found stones with artistic designs on them. Many scholars assumed that the Indus valley people learned the art of City buildings from the Sumerians and other people in Mesopotamia. We can make educated guesses about the function and meaning Of remaining artifacts and physical structures. Arts and Crafts Included pottery, dying, metalworking, and beading. Small sculptures are in stone, or terra cotta. Cotton is the first known use for a fiber in weaving textiles. Carefully Planned Cities The two largest settlements are Harp and Enjoy-dark were very similar. Each city held about 40,000 people. The town plan was orderly and regular (even baskets were all uniform in size and shape. ) The regularity Of plans suggests a very organized government and bureaucratic capacity. Excavations at Dollars revealed immense gates at the principal entrances of the city. Legacies of the Harpoon Civilization Most records involve literary and artistic forms. New ecology is based on rice cultivation and the use of iron. The Aryan groups grew skilled and powerful as they move East. The Cities of the Nile and the Indus, What difference do they make? Along the Nile, they are part of a single state that is unified about 3,000 B. C. E. They formed the core of an Imperial state. We learn the significance of archeological and textual study is unearthing. Records can show alliances between rulers and priests. Without text we have no record of religious, philosophical, legal, or administrative systems in the Indus valley. How to cite Outline Howard Spodek, Papers