USA HISTORY

WESTWARD EXPANSION INDUSTRIALIZATION URBANIZATION 1870 1900

WESTWARD EXPANSION

Question [CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
Which group of immigrants came to California to help build the railroad and risked death or injury blasting through the mountain?
A
Chinese
B
Mexicans
C
Africans
D
Whites
Explanation: 

Detailed explanation-1: -The men who laid tracks across the Sierra Nevada were mostly immigrants from Guandong, China.

Detailed explanation-2: -One of the groups that literally took on the brunt of the work, were the Chinese laborers. Most of the Chinese workers, who numbered over 11, 000 by the end of the project, were employed by the Central Pacific Railroad building out of Sacramento, California. The use of Chinese labor started as an experiment.

Detailed explanation-3: -The building of the Transcontinental Railroad relied on the labor of thousands of migrant workers, including Chinese, Irish, and Mormons workers. On the western portion, about 90% of the backbreaking work was done by Chinese migrants.

Detailed explanation-4: -The Big Four Four northern California businessmen formed the Central Pacific Railroad: Leland Stanford, (1824–1893), President; Collis Potter Huntington, (1821–1900), Vice President; Mark Hopkins, (1813–1878), Treasurer; Charles Crocker, (1822–1888), Construction Supervisor.

Detailed explanation-5: -Chinese workers made up most of the workforce between roughly 700 miles of train tracks between Sacramento, California, and Promontory, Utah. During the 19th century, more than 2.5 million Chinese citizens left their country and were hired in 1864 after a labor shortage threatened the railroad’s completion.

There is 1 question to complete.