Throughout the world, there are many railroads being built. During Westward Expansion, in 1881, the CPR (Canadian Pacific Railway) was in production. In Canada, mainly British Columbia (B.C), the government was having economic issues and they relied on Chinese immigrants to build the CPR because it was “cheaper” than hiring white workers to build the railroad. The Chinese were not the only ones affected; the Indigenous were also being affected by getting kicked out of their homes as the land was needed for the railroad. The government took advantage of the Chinese and Indigenous peoples. The CPR added many benefits to Canada, it also negatively affected the people living in Canada, and the Chinese workers hired to build the railroad. CPR is …show more content…
Furthermore, even if the Chinese were coming to Canada to help build the railroad, they still had to pay the head tax. It would take the workers about 500 days to pay off the Head Tax. That is if they spent none of their money. Considering that the workers only made 10 cents a day (in pure profit), it would take them 5,000 days just to get their money back. That was not the only thing that the government did to try to make the Chinese not able to come to Canada. After the Head Tax, the government wanted to reduce the amount of Chinese entering Canada. In Canada there was the Chinese Exclusion Act, formally called the Chinese Immigration Act (1923). This act made it so that the Chinese people were not allowed to enter Canada (until 1947).” (AHSNB, 2006). Family separation started to become very common as Chinese were not allowed to enter Canada. Their family back home were not able to come see them in Canada. The Canadian government not only mistreated the Chinese when they entered Canada, they split up families too. All of the other races were allowed to immigrate into Canada with no problem/no fee. It
In the book, immigration is indispensably linked to the construction of the transcontinental railroad. For instance, Ambrose writes that the intense need of manual laborers during the railroad construction attracted immigrants mainly the Chinese and the Irish laborers (12). The Central Pacific Railroad (CPR) brought in Chinese laborers in large numbers, while the Union Pacific Railroad (UPR) brought in large number of Irish immigrants. Ambrose also praises the central roles the immigrants played during the building of the transcontinental railroad. For example, he describes that the conclusion of the construction of the first transcontinental railroad at Promontory Summit in May 1869 was the utmost national achievement that could not go without giving credit and praise to the immigrant laborers (174). Therefore, he recognized their efforts and determinations, which significantly led to the completion of the construction.
The Canadian Pacific Railway was the first transcontinental railway built to connect Canada from coast to coast. (Canadian Pacific Para. 9) The construction almost delayed completely because of John A. MacDonald losing power, but it was finally continued with the help of a syndicate. (Canadian Pacific Para. 4) Due to the insufficient amount of adequate workers in British Columbia, Chinese contract workers were imported to help construct the track with minimal pay and harsh conditions. (Canada Para. 1) Chinese-Canadians were discriminated by being given the most dangerous job, no food or shelter provided, and the least pay. Unfortunately, when the track was completed, the Exclusion Act for Chinese immigrants was established to stop immigration from China, (Calgary Chinese Cultural Centre Para. 5) while also making it impossible for family members from China to immigrate. (Calgary Chinese Cultural Centre Para. 11)
Zong L. & Perry, B. (2011). Chinese immigrants in Canada and social injustice: From overt to
The impact of the CPR is huge in Canada because the railway helped import and export goods and foods from destination A to destination B, building materials and other everyday items from Canada West to Canada East and vice versa. There were also bad impacts on the Canadian Pacific Railway for example the CPR costed a lot for the parliament and the government, even though Donald Smith and Hugh Allan made the finances tough for few years for Canada. This drop lead to the Great Economic Depression. But in the end of the drop of this economic depression, everyone was happy with the Canadian Pacific
In 1871, Macdonald promised that the CPR would be completed in ten years’ time. This was ultimately unsuccessful, but by 1882, construction was put into high gear and was completed by 1885. While the construction of the CPR saw many benefits including creating a link to western Canada which aided in expansion, it was also a key player in the stagnation of the maritime provinces. A key purpose of the CPR was importing resources from the west to the heartland and exporting it to be sold back to the west. Therefore, there wasn’t much economic incentive to be seen in provinces like Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. In fact, it was of economic strain to the Maritimes because they still had to play a part in financing it with their tax dollars. In addition, the fact that the CPR only ran from east to west and back, further discouraging trade between the United States and the maritime
The period of 1914 to 1939, Canada’s immigration policy got very unfair. Changes were made to the Immigration Act in 1914 that allowed the rejection of anyone from any race that was deemed unsuitable for Canada’s requirements. Also, in that same year, the Komagata Maru came to the coast of Vancouver. It was a ship that carried many from Punjab, India. The ship wasn’t allowed to dock and passengers weren’t allowed to disembark off the ship. The ship hadn’t sailed directly to B.C. from India so only 24 passengers were allowed to disembark; most of them were doctors or Canadian citizens already. Another act to keep out unwanted immigrants from Canada was the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1923. This act came into effect on July 1st, 1923. It banned all Chinese immigrants from entering Canada, except merchants, diplomats and foreign students. Before the Chinese Exclusion Act was put into place, the Chinese had to pay a head tax of $500 just to get into the country. The numbers of Japanese immigrants were also restricted. The Canadian government restricted only 150 Japanese immigrants to come to Canada in a year. In 1925, the government relaxed restrictions on immigrants coming from many countrie...
During the time period of 1880 - 1885 approximately 17,000 Chinese immigrants immigrated to Canada in the hopes of better work, and improved living conditions. These immigrants were sadly disappointed as they were met throughout Canada with resentment and racist views. After the completion of the Canadian transcontinental railway the mainly Chinese population that had been employed as works began to disperse throughout Canada. This dispersion created “Chinatowns”, generally located within British Columbia and Vancouver. This time period of prejudice and hate becomes extremely significant as it shows the way that Canada overlo...
The first transcontinental railroad employed over twenty Chinese laborers and as time went on the numbers increased. The Central Pacific Railroad Company saw how beneficial Chinese immigrants would benefit their workforce and before they knew over 50 Chinese workers were employed. The White American workers saw how hard the railroad labor was and were reluctant to take on such hazardous tasks. In addition, railroad work was hard in general, plus management was chaotic, leading to a high attrition rate ( ). The Central Pacific took off around 1864 and Superintendent James Strobridge and Director Charles Crocker both were in align to employ mostly
Throughout the late nineteenth and the early twentieth century, the United States economy changed dramatically as the country transformed from a rural agricultural nation to an urban industrial gian, becoming the leading manufacturing country in the world. The vast expansion of the railroads in the late 1800s’ changed the early American economy by tying the country together into one national market. The railroads provided tremendous economic growth because it provided a massive market for transporting goods such as steel, lumber, and oil. Although the first railroads were extremely successful, the attempt to finance new railroads originally failed. Perhaps the greatest physical feat late 19th century America was the creation of the transcontinental railroad. The Central Pacific Company, starting in San Francisco, and the new competitor, Union Pacific, starting in Omaha. The two companies slaved away crossing mountains, digging tunnels, and laying track the entire way. Both railroads met at Promontory, Utah on May 10, 1869, and drove one last golden spike into the completed railway. Of course the expansion of railroads wasn’t the only change being made. Another change in the economy was immigration.
According to Lee, Erika, and Reason (2016), “The Chinese Exclusion Act ...barred Chinese laborers for a period of 10 years and allowed entry only to certain exempt classes (students, teachers, travelers, merchants, and diplomats” (p. 4). The Chinese immigrants were excluded from certain rules and laws like Blacks and other minority groups. Also, they were not permitted to request citizenship or settle in the United States. For decades, the Chinese laborers did not have legal rights to enter into the United States until the decision was overturned. Lee, Erika, and Reason noted, “Chinese activist turned their attention to opening up additional immigration categories within the confines of the restrictions…some 300,000 Chinese were admitted into the United States as returning residents and citizens” (p. 4). The activists fought for the rights of the Chinese people to overturn the decision for leaving and entering as pleased to the United
was the driving factor that ultimately resulted in the internment of the Japanese Canadians. Racial prejudice against Orientals had been around in B.C. since the 1850s when Chinese immigrants came to Canada to help with the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway. A newspaper article described the Chinese as a “marvelous human machine, competent to perform the maximum of labour on the minimum of sustenance” (Adachi 42). While they were beneficial for contractors, they posed a threat to the white population (Figure 3). The cartoon suggests that the low living standards of the Chinese allowed them to endure the harshest conditions, while being satisfied with the lowest wages. In contrast, the typical European is portrayed as a civilized human being who cannot compete with the Chinese workers without sacrificing his dignity. As a result, when the Japanese started immigrating to Canada later on, the British Columbian population only saw them as another threat to their culture due to the similarities they shared with the Chinese. However, the Japanese proved to be a greater problem since they were not affected by the Head Tax imposed on the Chinese (Hickman, 33; Morton). The attack on Pearl Harbour was an excuse that finally allowed British Columbians to release the anti-Japanese sentiment that they had been suppressing for years. In addition, when the final decision to intern the Japanese Canadians was passed, the government considered them all as potential threats (Figure 4). There was no effort made to distinguish those who posed potential threats and those who did not; most of them had no connection with Japan besides for their ancestry. This can only be attributed to racism, as there are only 38 suspects out of the 22,000 internees. Similarly, selling of Japanese property was another racist act that the government claimed to be necessary for the war effort and to increase national security (Sunahara 90; “The War Years”).
America was expanding at such a rapid pace that those who were in America before us had no time to anticipate what was happening. This change in lifestyle affected not only Americans but everyone who lived in the land. Changing traditions, the get rich quick idea and other things were the leading causes of westward expansion. But whatever happened to those who were caught in the middle, those who were here before us?
The immigration story of the Chinese had forced them to make a living, or work for what they wanted to one day become known for. Before the time the Chinese arrived in Canada, problems had occurred on the homeland. At the time most European countries had been coming to china to sell goods, when they had suddenly lost to Great Britain in the Opium war in 1842 to 1860. This had forced china to open ports for trade in Europe. This devastating issue made the Chinese community hassle knowing that the European would be invading. After the Chinese surrender had occurred towards Brittan, they were told to pay a massive fee. The payment had affected the annual intake of China’s treasury, which eventually was paid through higher taxes of their citizens. Since...
By the mid 19th century, Canada was taking its first steps as a new colony in the British Empire. The Canadian government was faced with several challenges at the time, John A. MacDonald, the Prime Minister, had a plan to ensure that the Dominion of Canada's first century was a successful one. A major component of this plan was the establishment of a stable population in the West who worked the lands to create a strong agricultural economy. This agenda was not without its obstacles and conflict, but eventually, by the 1900's, the goal was essentially achieved.
This extract is part of the poem by Christina Rossetti entitled Goblin Market (1862), which belongs to the Victorian period. We can find the fragment located almost at the beginning, just after a description of the marketplace. In this excerpt we see the main event, how Laura gives in to the temptation posed by the goblin men, after Lizzie has warned her not to stray from what is expected of them. In Goblin Market we can find, disguised as a child’s nursery song, a message of rebellion against society’s expectations of women, showing how they should be the ones making decisions on their own lives and bodies.