Working on the Railroads: Chinese Labor Contractors

Based on her forthcoming book, Sue Fawn Chung, professor emerita at University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), discusses organizations and individuals that contracted Chinese workers for the construction of railroads throughout the American West in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Her research highlights the experiences of one Chinese American laborer who succeeded in a time of hostility and violence against Chinese people.
Chung focuses on the contract labor system, and Chinese American labor contractors for the railroads during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chung highlights the life of one labor contractor, Lim Lip Hong (ca. 1840-1920) as well as others who arrived in the US as young boys in search of fulfilling their American dreams. Lim Lip Hong worked on the Central Pacific, Virginia and Truckee, and Carson and Colorado railroads. In examining his experience as well as others during that time, Chung hopes to correct misconceptions about the Chinese people who contributed to the settlement and economic prosperity of the American West and notes how the perceptions and challenges of being Chinese American are still present today. This presentation is followed by a lively discussion.
__________________________________
The California Historical Society (CHS) has been collecting, sharing, and honoring the extraordinarily diverse stories from throughout the state for more than 150 years. Our mission is to inspire and empower people to make California’s past a meaningful part of their contemporary lives.
To learn more about the CHS and the work we do, please visit www.calhist.org