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Railroads and Immigration
What was the purpose of building railroads to the Pacific Northwest,
and who completed the work?
The Transcontinental Railroad
O Connecting Washington State to Civilization
O Safer transportation to PNW through the Cascade Mountains
O Increase population of Washington to assist with statehood
O Allow American citizens to spread further west – Manifest Destiny
Northern Pacific Railroad
O 1883 – Henry VillardO Linked the Great Lakes
to Tacoma – reduced travel time from 3 to 5 months to 5 days or less
O Built with aid from Federal Government land grants and immigrant labor
O Chinese and Irish laborers
Great Northern RailroadO 1889- James J. HillO St. Paul, Minnesota to Seattle
– provided competition for Northern Pacific, offered lower rates and travel time
O Built with no assistance from Federal Government
O Financed project by selling land to homesteaders and real estate developers.
O Weyerhauser and the “deal of a century”
O Sold land to timber tycoon – 900,000 acres for $5.4 million, about $6 per acre
Impact of the RailroadO Boom to industryO Benefitted other industries – timber,
agriculture, etc.O Loss of land for Native AmericansO Changing of the landscapeO Increase of population
Increased ImmigrationO Need for Cheap LaborO Chinese and Irish workersO Paid less than American-born
workersO Created competition and resentment
which often led to violence
Irish ImmigrantsO California’s gold rush
inspired many Irish immigrants to move west.
O Many moved north after the gold rush to work in agricultural areas of Washington.
O Others worked as laborers for the railroad, housemaids, mill hands, miners, or soldiers.
Chinese ImmigrantsO Hired at low
wages to work in mines and on railroads.
O Not given full rights – could not testify against white people.
O Conflicts with the Irish
Scandinavian Immigrants
O Attracted to Puget Sound because of similar climate
O Norwegians – Poulsbo, Fishing
O Swedes, Finns, Danes – timber, fishing, farming
Anger Over Immigration
O Nativists targeted ethnic groupsO Chinese Exclusion ActO Gentlemen’s AgreementO Immigration Quotas
Anger Over Immigration
