Chinese Slaves Did Not Build California Railroads
The Claim
In the 1800s, Chinese immigrants were enslaved and forced to build California railroads.
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Emerging story
A meme claiming that Chinese slaves built California’s railroads has been widely shared across social media platforms since as far back as 2018. The meme features the image of a Chinese man and has the following text: “I'm Chinese. My people were slaves in California in the 1800’s making railroads. You didn’t know that because we never asked for handouts or blame whitey for our failures.”
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar’s investigation found that Chinese railroad workers in California were not enslaved and were paid for their labor. Between 1863 and 1869 an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 Chinese laborers worked on the western half of the First Transcontinental Railroad. This comprised roughly 90% of California railroad workers.
The conditions for these workers were hazardous and unfair, with living situations that were far worse than their white counterparts. On average, Chinese migrant workers were paid around 30% less than white workers. They were also forced to purchase their own basic amenities, such as food, while white workers were fed by their employers. Hundreds of Chinese workers died during the construction.
On June 25th of 1867 these unfair conditions culminated in what was the era's largest labor strike. Chinese workers demanded equal pay, better working conditions, and shorter workdays. The strike lasted for eight days and ended when the Central Pacific director stopped the flow of food and supplies to their work camps.
Slave labor was used during the construction of the Southern railroad network. During its construction, Southern railroad companies became some of the largest slaveholders in the South. Up to 75% of Southern railroads used slave labor, with more than 10,000 enslaved people working on the railroads each year between 1867 and 1865. However, these enslaved people were not Chinese.
