How did leland stanford treat his workers. Leland Stanford (Railroads): Net Worth, Industry, Facts 2022-10-27
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Leland Stanford was an American businessman and politician who played a significant role in the development of the American West during the late 19th century. He is perhaps best known as the co-founder of Stanford University, which was named in honor of his son, Leland Jr., who died at a young age. However, Stanford's business and political career also included a number of ventures that involved the treatment of workers, which has been the subject of much debate and criticism.
One of the most controversial aspects of Stanford's career was his treatment of Chinese immigrants who worked on the construction of the Central Pacific Railroad, which he helped to finance and oversee. Many of these workers were brought to the United States through a process known as "coolie labor," which involved recruiting laborers from China and other parts of Asia and essentially treating them as indentured servants. These workers were paid low wages, provided with poor living conditions, and subjected to harsh working conditions, including long hours and dangerous tasks.
Stanford and other railroad executives were accused of exploiting these workers and taking advantage of their vulnerable status in order to save money on labor costs. In addition, Chinese workers faced widespread discrimination and violence from other workers and the general public, and Stanford did little to protect them or improve their conditions. This treatment of Chinese workers has been widely condemned as unethical and exploitative, and it has tarnished Stanford's legacy in the eyes of many.
In addition to his treatment of Chinese workers, Stanford also had a reputation for being a tough and demanding boss in his other business ventures. He was known for setting high expectations for his employees and holding them accountable for meeting those expectations, and he was not afraid to make unpopular decisions in the interests of the company. This approach may have helped him to achieve success in his business ventures, but it also meant that he was not always popular with his workers and could be seen as lacking in empathy or concern for their well-being.
Overall, it is clear that Leland Stanford's treatment of workers was a complex and controversial issue that has been the subject of much debate. While he was undoubtedly a successful and influential figure, his treatment of Chinese immigrants and his reputation as a tough boss have left a lasting stain on his legacy.
What bad things did Leland Stanford do?
It was a slight to company mastermind Huntington, who had to settle for vice president -- and the beginning of bad blood that estranged him from Stanford and drove Judah away from the Central Pacific. I hope that this article may be taken as a starting point for further historical study. He has in the eyes of the moneygod, committed the unpardonable sin. In 1868 he signed a million-dollar draft without their consultation, making the company captive to the Bank of California. Most of the early workers were Irish immigrants. Stanford provost Persis Drell remembers the scene in the early 1970s well.
The Tragic Death Of Leland And Jane Stanford's Son
Technically the CPRR remained a corporate entity until 1959, when it was formally merged into Southern Pacific. The men who came from humid south China labored through two of the worst winters on record, surviving in caverns dug beneath the snow. In the end, Stanford would bequeath millions in setting up the university, which opened in 1891. The members of the Board of Directors of the Co-op included several who would go on to become leading actors in the University. One may wonder, given these views about capitalism, what Stanford thought about his own career and those of his fellow industrialists. Roland De Wolk, a historian and long-time investigative reporter, is the author of American Disruptor: The Scandalous Life of Leland Stanford. Students have protested the institute on numerous occasions as part of various antiwar movements.
The transcontinental railroad has been viewed in a similarly nationalistic way ever since. Labor can and will become its own employer through co-operative association. Soon, labor recruiters were scouring California, and Crocker hired companies to advertise the work in China. They set up dummy companies to launder the proceeds into their own accounts, effectively hiding their true expenses and profits. Veterans for the Railroad's Ranks The end of the Civil War brought a change of fortune for the Union Pacific. Working on the Railroad Pay varied according to responsibility. The 1906 earthquake dealt a further blow, killing two people and destroying several campus buildings, some so new they had never been occupied.
Sensing at least that fear of competition might motivate his men, Strobridge grudgingly agreed to hire 50 Chinese men as wagon-fillers. New book paints Leland Stanford as a notorious thief as well as a California governor. Footer Information and Navigation. A later Stanford fought in the Revolutionary War. When he made decisions on their behalf, the results often sent the Associates scrambling.
Labor Shortage In early 1865 the Central Pacific had work enough for 4,000 men. With a greater intelligence, and with a better understanding of the principles of cooperation, the adoption of them in practice will, in time I imagine, cause most of the industries of the country to be carried on by these cooperative associations. This was also designed to teach the Stanford children the necessity for a strong work ethic. Generous funding helps its undergraduates of diverse economic backgrounds to enjoy parity of experience and opportunity. His correspondence contained hare-brained schemes for piercing the canyons and ever-changing speculations of the line's potential location that frustrated the Associates' land-grabbing designs. In 1886 Stanford authored a Senate bill to foster the creation of worker cooperatives by providing a legal structure for incorporation.
Leland Stanford (Railroads): Net Worth, Industry, Facts
Generally four or six men would unite to do this work; if there were four, three of them worked at the tunnel and flumes, while the fourth went off to a distance and got wages, so that he could supply them with food. While governor,⌠Stanford invested heavily in the plan to build a transcontinental railroad, and, when the Central Pacific Railroad was organized in 1861, he became its president 1861â93. In 1852, fed up with lawyering, he left the Midwest to become a partner in a wholesale grocery business founded by his brothers. Senate to help implement his cooperative vision. In the process, he became a millionaire several times over. They blasted out 15 tunnels, the longest nearly 1,700 feet.
Was Leland Stanford a âMagnanimousâ Philanthropist or a âThief, Liar, and Bigot?â
Congressional Record, Stanford Daily, August 23, 1945. The bankers have telegraphed him long messages to tell him of the ruinto their skinflint business which wouldresult. Stanford and his wife Jane made a decision to donate millions of dollars in memory of their son who died just short of his 16 th birthday. He thinks that with greater intelligence and better understanding of its principles, the majority of the nation's industries will be thus carried on. Stanford told the interviewer, in a very alert and bright state of society people learn co-operation by themselves, but in older and quieter conditions of laboring enterprise, such a bill as I propose will point out the way to mutual exertion.
Leland Stanford: The Business Empire Behind The University
Woman of the spirit world or no, Mrs. After the Sierra, the Chinese workers faced the blistering heat of the Nevada and Utah deserts, yet they drove ahead at an astonishing rate. Three-thousand workers along the railroad route went on strike, demanding wage parity, better working conditions and shorter hours. Railroad President On January 8, 1863, Governor Stanford broke ground to inaugurate the Central Pacific's construction. But when men are about to enter partnership in the way of co-operation, the whole range of character comes under careful scrutiny.
