Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents ix
3. Illustrations xi
4. Acknowledgments xiii
5. One. “Bind the Republic Together”: Canals, Railroads, and the Paradox of American Progress 1
6. Two. “A Wretched and Miserable Condition”: Irish Ditchdiggers, the Triumph of Progress, and the Contest of Canal Communities in the Hoosier State 16
7. Three. “Abuse of the Labour and Lives of Men”: Irish Construction Workers and the Violence of Progress on the Illinois Transportation Frontier 57
8. Four. “Hell (and Heaven) on Wheels”: Mormons, Immigrants, and the Reconstruction of American Progress and Masculinity on the Transcontinental Railroad 107
9. Five. “The Greatest Monument of Human Labor”: Chinese Immigrants, the Landscape of Progress, and the Work of Building and Celebrating the Transcontinental Railroad 151
10. Six. End-of-Track: Reflections on the History of Immigrant Labor and American Progress 188
11. Notes 203
12. Bibliography 251
13. Index 277