Railroads and Immigration What was the purpose of building railroads to the Pacific Northwest, and...

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