Early Settlers
Andrew J. Russell is best known for his artwork about the Central Pacific Railroad that was built in 1869. The photos capture the construction as well as the natives and how they participated in the construction. Therefore, the art can be used to describe the native or settlers during the construction. The culture and the economic development of the settlers appears to have changed over the years as a result of construction of the transport services.
The early American settlers had poor means of transport and communication until the development of the railways. The settlers were mostly used in the construction as well as African slaves (Sheppard, 2006). The nature of the natives appears to have been of major concern as it seemed discriminative. The slaves were mostly Indians and Africans working for white settlers (Sheppard, 2006). However, the workers believed in making an honest living on American soils as it was believed to be the greener pastures. Therefore, they would participate in all kinds of activities that would help them earn some money.
The construction of the railways is believed to have been the cause of the immigration. The origin of the Black American and Latin American population presently is believed to have been from the early construction of the railways. The modern day population shows the interracial aspect that arose from the immigration (Sheppard, 2006). The natives intermarried with some of the immigrants that led to the mixed population. However, the cases of racial discrimination and segregation were dominant during the railway construction period. The workers were overworked and worked under very harsh conditions. The modern world has overcome the challenges of racism with most powerful people being of African or Latin origin.
References
Sheppard, B. (2006). Early Settlers. Carlton, Vic: Echidna Books.
