The CHINESE RAILWAY WORKERS
EARLY LIFE/DEATHS
The Chinese workers had pretty bad lives lots of the workers died of avalanches rockslides slipping off wet cliffs lost in rapids and more and most of them died from scurvy because of their poor diet. 17,000 Chinese workers came to Canada to work on the CPR.
CHANGE
The Chinese rail workers built the CPR that stretches across Canada. It was easy at first until they hit the mountains. When they hit the mountains they struggled at only laying five feet of track a day. When they came to the great lakes they tied an anquor to a 400 foot rope and didn’t hit the bottom of the lake. So the trains have to go around the great lakes. Workers were short in supply from 1881 to 1884. It was a huge change when they were done. It made travel faster, safer and easier.
TIMELINE
In 1879-1885 imagine laying track all day and then barely eating. This is what the Chinese rail workers did. Dong Yee was one of thousands of Chinese rail workers. He moved rocks out of the way where they were going to lay tracks. He was a small man but that didn’t matter. You didn’t have to be big for the job. At this time in history they didn’t have planes so you had to travel by boat overseas. This is what Dong Yee’s wife and daughter did.
Values
The Chinese rail workers valued feeding their family. The Chinese rail workers also saw an opportunity by coming out west because they could bring their family overseas to Canada and start a little farm. For hopefully a better life
References:
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/settlement/kids/021013-2031.3-e.html
The Chinese workers had pretty bad lives lots of the workers died of avalanches rockslides slipping off wet cliffs lost in rapids and more and most of them died from scurvy because of their poor diet. 17,000 Chinese workers came to Canada to work on the CPR.
CHANGE
The Chinese rail workers built the CPR that stretches across Canada. It was easy at first until they hit the mountains. When they hit the mountains they struggled at only laying five feet of track a day. When they came to the great lakes they tied an anquor to a 400 foot rope and didn’t hit the bottom of the lake. So the trains have to go around the great lakes. Workers were short in supply from 1881 to 1884. It was a huge change when they were done. It made travel faster, safer and easier.
TIMELINE
In 1879-1885 imagine laying track all day and then barely eating. This is what the Chinese rail workers did. Dong Yee was one of thousands of Chinese rail workers. He moved rocks out of the way where they were going to lay tracks. He was a small man but that didn’t matter. You didn’t have to be big for the job. At this time in history they didn’t have planes so you had to travel by boat overseas. This is what Dong Yee’s wife and daughter did.
Values
The Chinese rail workers valued feeding their family. The Chinese rail workers also saw an opportunity by coming out west because they could bring their family overseas to Canada and start a little farm. For hopefully a better life
References:
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/settlement/kids/021013-2031.3-e.html