Abstract
The transcontinental railroad joining the eastern and western halves of the country has been lauded as one of the greatest displays of American engineering and innovation, yet it could not have been completed without the help of thousands of Chinese laborers. This study considers four newspapers’ coverage of the Chinese in three California railroad towns as their populations swelled with foreign workers from 1865 to 1869. It considers the coverage within the framework of Clint Wilson's five historical phases of (white) press coverage of minorities. For journalism historians, the story of the railroad is valuable because of what it tells us about press treatment of a large minority group during a significant display of American nation-building.
Published Version
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