Across the Continent:The Frank Leslie Transcontinental Excursion
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/flipomatic/cic/images@ViewImage2?img=HN000004a
This picture was created in 1878. It's called Across the Continent: The Frank Leslie Transcontinental Excursion. In the picture there is a railroad with a train on it as Chinese workers look out to a deep ravine with a river and the sight of Sutter's Mill. It represents the light of hope for the Chinese Americans.
The Chinese Americans at that time had to work as railroad workers because they had to make a living. The white Americans wouldn't offer the Chinese Americans any good jobs that didn't require labor because to them they were "foul things," "celestial monkies" and not people with real feelings and real families to feed. The railroad construction actually at first was supposed to be done by the white men, but they chose to give all the labor to the Chinese. The Chinese only received $20 per month for all the hard labor they did. This amount was not enough for the entire families' welfare (Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum).
The Chinese in this picture are basically looking at the river and hoping to live the American Dream.
The Chinese Americans at that time had to work as railroad workers because they had to make a living. The white Americans wouldn't offer the Chinese Americans any good jobs that didn't require labor because to them they were "foul things," "celestial monkies" and not people with real feelings and real families to feed. The railroad construction actually at first was supposed to be done by the white men, but they chose to give all the labor to the Chinese. The Chinese only received $20 per month for all the hard labor they did. This amount was not enough for the entire families' welfare (Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum).
The Chinese in this picture are basically looking at the river and hoping to live the American Dream.
