TY - BOOK ID - 30945577 TI - The filth of progress : immigrants, Americans, and the building of canals and railroads in the West PY - 2016 SN - 9780520960374 0520960378 0520284593 0520284607 9780520284593 9780520284609 PB - Oakland, California : University of California Press, DB - UniCat KW - E-books KW - Canal construction workers KW - Railroad construction workers KW - Foreign workers KW - Canals KW - Railroads KW - History KW - Channels (Hydraulic engineering) KW - Hydraulic structures KW - Inland navigation KW - Alien labor KW - Aliens KW - Foreign labor KW - Guest workers KW - Guestworkers KW - Immigrant labor KW - Immigrant workers KW - Migrant labor (Foreign workers) KW - Migrant workers (Foreign workers) KW - Employees KW - Railroad workers KW - Construction workers KW - Canal diggers KW - Canal workers KW - History. KW - Employment KW - Noncitizen labor KW - Noncitizens KW - Canal construction workers -- United States -- History. KW - Canals -- United States -- History. KW - Foreign workers -- United States -- History. KW - Railroad construction workers -- United States -- History. KW - Railroads -- United States -- History. KW - 19th century american history. KW - 19th century american immigrants. KW - american empire. KW - american history. KW - american west. KW - canals. KW - capitalism. KW - central pacific railroad. KW - chinese. KW - construction workers. KW - continental empire. KW - cultural studies. KW - erie canal. KW - history. KW - immigrants. KW - immigration. KW - irish. KW - labor studies. KW - labor. KW - mormons. KW - narrative of progress. KW - national infrastructure. KW - rail travel. KW - railroads. KW - suffering. KW - survival. KW - technology. KW - union pacific railroad. KW - united states of america. KW - westward expansion. KW - workers rights. KW - workers. UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:30945577 AB - "In America's historical imagination, toil and triumph against nature and overwhelming odds characterizes such achievements as the Erie Canal and the transcontinental railroad. Triumph transformed canal and railroad entrepreneurs into visionaries whose work brought the nation bountiful riches and did the Lord's bidding. Celebrated for their spirit and perseverance in 'building' the nation's infrastructure, they found respect for looking to tomorrow and creating a future. For generations, most indexes of American history supported and reinforced this narrative of progress. Yet, if this is the historical memory, it is conveniently stunted. What of those whose bodies strained and broke under the load of such glories? What of those men beyond the din and fanfare who only appear in old photographs with faces blurred and indistinguishable? In their lives and deaths in the mud, muck, and mountains is another history of American achievement. These barely visible and forgotten, ordinary men, 'unskilled' immigrants from Ireland and China, Mormons, and native-born American workingmen rank, as well, as the creators of national growth and progress. Their experiences and voices, along with those of the privileged and well-connected, are the subjects of this study. I examine the rise of Western canals and railroads to national prominence through the menial labor of countless men, largely hidden from view because they left virtually no paper trail, who strung together livelihoods at the economic fringes of society. This book examines the contest for control of American progress and history as distilled from the competing narratives of canal and railroad construction workers and those fortunate enough to avoid this fate"--Provided by publisher. ER -