عنوان

The filth of progress :

(Number (ISBN

0520284593

(Number (ISBN

0520284607

(Number (ISBN

9780520284593

(Number (ISBN

9780520284609

Erroneous ISBN

0520960378

Erroneous ISBN

9780520960374

Number

dltt

Title Proper

The filth of progress :

General Material Designation

[Book]

Other Title Information

immigrants, Americans, and the building of canals and railroads in the West /

First Statement of Responsibility

Ryan Dearinger

Edition Statement

First edition

Specific Material Designation and Extent of Item

xx, 289 pages :

Other Physical Details

illustrations, maps ;

Dimensions

24 cm

Text of Note

Includes bibliographical references (pages 251-276) and index

Text of Note

"Bind the Republic together": canals, railroads, and the paradox of American progress -- "A wretched and miserable condition"; Irish ditchdiggers, the triumph of progress, and the contest of canal communities in the Hoosier State -- "Abuse of the labour and lives of men" : Irish construction workers and the violence of progress on the Illinois transportation frontier -- "Hell (and Heaven) on wheels": Mormons, immigrants, and the reconstruction of American progress and masculinity on the transcontinental railroad -- "The greatest monument of human labor": Chinese immigrants, the landscape of progress, and the work of building and celebrating the transcontinental railroad -- End-of-track: reflections on the history of immigrant labor and American progress

0

Text of Note

"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

Canal construction workers-- United States-- History

Canals-- United States-- History

Foreign workers-- United States-- History

Railroad construction workers-- United States-- History

Railroads-- United States-- History

Class number

Class number

Book number

Book number

Dearinger, Ryan,1979-

Date of Transaction

20160205093217.0

Cataloguing Rules (Descriptive Conventions))

rda

Electronic name

[Book]

Y