How many Chinese laborers were employed by the Central Pacific Railroad by 1867?

By 1867, more than 90% of Central Pacific's crew working on the transcontinental railroad were Chinese, with anywhere from 10,000 to 15,000 workers at any given time. Union Pacific, on the other end of the railroad, hired no Chinese workers, and most of their laborers were Civil War veterans and Irish immigrants.



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Altogether, the Central Pacific Railroad hired an estimated 12,000 Chinese workers, some as young as 12. The Chinese workers, at that time the largest industrial workforce in American history, made up 90 percent of the Central Pacific's total labor force.

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Initially, Chinese employees received wages of $27 and then $30 a month, minus the cost of food and board. In contrast, Irishmen were paid $35 per month, with board provided. Workers lived in canvas camps alongside the grade.

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Irish immigrants often entered the workforce at the bottom of the occupational ladder and took on the menial and dangerous jobs that were often avoided by other workers. Many Irish American women became servants or domestic workers, while many Irish American men labored in coal mines and built railroads and canals.

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The construction crew grew to include 12,000 Chinese laborers by 1868, when they breached Donner summit and constituted eighty percent of the entire work force. The Golden spike, connecting the western railroad to the Union Pacific Railroad at Promontory, Utah, was hammered on May 10, 1869.

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To meet its manpower needs, the Central Pacific hired thousands of Chinese labourers, including many recruited from farms in Canton. The crew had the formidable task of laying the track that crossed the rugged Sierra Nevada mountain range, blasting nine tunnels to accomplish this.

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This photo shows three Chinese Railroad workers—Ging Cui, Wong Fook, and Lee Shao—at the Transcontinental Railroad's 50th Anniversary in 1919. These men were three of eight Chinese workers who put the last rail of the railroad in place!

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With no support from other workers, the Chinese strike ended without event, and the men went back to working hard and steady. Thousands more Chinese were brought on to finish the railroad. In 1868 Central Pacific crews finally broke out of the Sierra Nevada.

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Chinese workers were treated unjustly and paid lower because of their race. Chinese workers were paid approximately $24 to $31 a month, while the Irish workers were pad $35 a month. In addition, the Chinese worked longer hours and paid for their lodging, food and tools while Irish and white workers were provided for.

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They were paid less than other workers and expected to purchase their own food. However, this disadvantage turned out to carry some advantages for the Chinese workers. Records indicate they ate a diet rich in vegetables, seafood, rice, and tea.

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As well as being paid less, Chinese workers were given the most dangerous tasks, such as handling the explosive nitroglycerin used to break up solid rock. Due to the harsh conditions they faced, hundreds of Chinese Canadians working on the railway died from accidents, winter cold, illness and malnutrition.

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The Central Pacific's Chinese immigrant workers received just $26-$35 a month for a 12-hour day, 6-day work week and had to provide their own food and tents.

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Working on the Railroad Teamsters and graders received the least, while the iron men got the healthiest sum of anybody save their foremen. Like their Irish counterparts on the Central Pacific, the Union Pacific men had a staple diet of beef, bread, and black coffee.

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