How Did Chinese Laborers Shape The Success Of The First Transcontinental Railroad?

An 1867 map showing the first transcontinental railroad, consisting of two portions built by the Central Pacific Railroad and Union Pacific Railroad respectively.

The first transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, and it successfully helped connect the eastern and western United States, making travel and trade much faster. A journey in 1860 from New York to San Francisco would have taken around a week, but a decade later, travel times were cut down to just over 80 hours, thanks to the transcontinental railroad. By 1880, the railroad was moving $50 million worth of freight every year, which would be equivalent to over $1 billion in today’s dollars.

The construction of the first transcontinental railroad was a massive project that required thousands of workers. While people might expect the laborers to primarily consist of black or white men, since they were the most common in the U.S. at the time, history actually points to a less expected demographic: the Chinese.

In fact, Chinese laborers played a huge role in getting it done, consisting of over 90% of the workforce in the western portion of the transcontinental railroad at its highest. These workers, mostly from southern China, faced tough conditions, low pay, and discrimination, yet their work was critical to the railroad’s success.

Before getting into detail, we need to get a good understanding of the surrounding context. Back in the 1860s, the United States wanted a railroad to link the East Coast with the West Coast. With a coast-to-coast distance of almost 3,000 miles, transportation was way too slow for efficiently getting goods and people across, and the U.S. was in desperate need of a solid railroad, thus giving birth to the first transcontinental railroad project. The government gave the job to two companies: the Central Pacific Railroad, starting in California, and the Union Pacific Railroad, starting in Nebraska. The Central Pacific faced a big problem early on. California had few workers willing to do the dangerous, low-paying job of building a railroad through mountains and deserts. Gold mining and other more prosperous industries pulled workers away, and many white laborers refused to do the work either because it was too hard or because the pay was too low. The Central Pacific needed a solution, and that’s when they turned to Chinese immigrants.

A drawing depicting Chinese immigrants during the California Gold Rush.

Chinese workers had already started to arrive in California during the Gold Rush in the 1850s. Many came from Guangdong province, where poverty and war pushed people to seek better lives abroad. By the 1860s, about 50,000 Chinese immigrants lived in California, and they worked in any job they could find, from mining to farming. The Central Pacific’s leaders, like Charles Crocker, saw these immigrants as a possible workforce. At first, some doubted Chinese workers could handle the job because they were often seen as too small or weak compared to white laborers. So, Crocker decided to hire a small group of Chinese workers in 1865 to test them. However, they quickly proved the critics wrong and showed their worth, working hard and learning fast, and the company did not hesitate to hire thousands more.

By 1868, around 10,000 to 14,000 Chinese laborers were employed. These workers took on the toughest tasks. They built tracks through the Sierra Nevada mountains, where they faced freezing winters, heavy snow, and dangerous rockslides. They used picks, shovels, and dynamite to carve paths through solid rock. One of their biggest jobs was blasting tunnels through mountains. The Summit Tunnel, near Donner Pass, was 1,659 feet long and took over a year to complete. Workers drilled holes by hand, packed them with explosives, and risked their lives every day. Many died in explosions, avalanches, or accidents, and estimates say that up to 1,200 Chinese workers may have been killed over the course of the project.

Chinese laborers worked long hours. They clocked in during the morning, worked 10 to 12 hours, and clocked out at night. They followed this routine for six days a week, with one day of rest on Sunday. They lived in rough camps near the work sites, sleeping in tents or wooden shacks. The food was basic, usually rice, vegetables, and small amounts of meat, which they cooked themselves. Unlike white workers, who got better food and housing from the company, Chinese laborers had to buy and prepare their own supplies. They typically boiled tea and used traditional Chinese medicines to stay healthy. This helped them avoid diseases like scurvy, which often affected the relatively well-treated white workers. Their discipline and teamwork impressed supervisors, and they noted that Chinese crews rarely argued or caused trouble.

The Chinese workers weren’t just neglected, as another big issue was pay. Chinese workers earned less than white workers for the same jobs. They were paid about $1 a day, or roughly $25 to $30 a month, while white workers often got $35 or more, plus better living conditions. For the Chinese workers, this means that they would’ve gotten roughly $500 to $600 a month adjusted to current purchasing power. The Central Pacific saved a lot of money by paying Chinese workers less and providing fewer benefits. Despite the low wages, many Chinese laborers saved every penny they could and sent excess money back to their families in China. Some even saved enough to start businesses in the United States after the railroad was finished, though most stayed poor due to the low pay and high costs of living.

Chinese laborers at work during the construction of the first transcontinental railroad.

Discrimination was also a constant problem for Chinese workers. Many white laborers and local communities disliked them, and they received the blame for taking jobs or lowering wages. This led to violence and laws aimed at Chinese immigrants. For example, California passed taxes and rules that targeted Chinese workers. This includes the Foreign Miners’ Tax, which made it harder for them to earn a living. On the railroad, Chinese laborers were often given the most dangerous tasks, as they were left to handle explosives or work in unstable tunnels. When accidents happened, records of Chinese deaths were poorly kept, so the exact number of workers who died is unclear. But as mentioned before, historians estimate that up to 1,200 Chinese workers may have died.

In 1867, Chinese workers organized a strike to demand better pay and shorter hours. About 2,000 workers stopped working for a week, asking for wages equal to white laborers and an eight-hour workday. The Central Pacific responded harshly. They cut off food supplies to the workers’ camps and brought in armed guards to force them back to work. The strike failed, but it showed that Chinese laborers were willing to stand up for their rights, even in the face of strong opposition. This was one of the earliest organized labor actions by Chinese immigrants in the United States.

The first transcontinental railroad was completed on May 10, 1869, at Promontory Summit, Utah, where the Central Pacific and Union Pacific tracks met. A famous ceremony marked the event, with a golden spike driven into the final rail. Photographs from that day show mostly white workers and company leaders. Chinese laborers, meanwhile, were largely left out of the celebration. Their contributions were ignored in many official records and newspaper stories at the time. Despite this, their work was essential. The Central Pacific’s tracks, built mostly by Chinese laborers, covered 690 miles of the railroad’s 1,912-mile total length, including the hardest sections through mountains and deserts.

After the railroad was finished, many Chinese workers faced new challenges. Some stayed in the railroad industry, maintaining tracks or working on other rail lines. Other workers moved to cities like San Francisco, where they started businesses or worked in factories. However, anti-Chinese feelings grew stronger in the 1870s and 1880s, and many Americans blamed Chinese immigrants for economic problems, like job competition during tough times. This led to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which stopped Chinese laborers from entering the United States and made life harder for those already here. The law stayed in place until 1943, limiting opportunities for Chinese immigrants and their families.