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July 1, 1862
Pacific Railway Act of 1862
The mechanism for the creation of the Union Pacific Railroad Company, this document is a demonstration of the intricate relationship between the business of the railroad and the business of government and expansion.
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February 14, 1863
Homestead Act
In this report of the Agricultural Committee to the House of Representatives, the importance of European immigration into the American West for the continued prosperity and growth of the nation is emphasized in a call for the establishment of an Emigration Bureau. Note the emphasis on the need for internal improvements (including the railroad) to facilitate the mobility of immigrants and agricultural products.
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September 6, 1863
Letter from Jennie Reed to Samuel B. Reed, September 6, 1863
In this letter from September 6, 1863, Jennie Reed writes to her husband, Samuel Reed, describing a recent trip she made to Chicago. She notes that she hopes his letter to Chicago, requesting employment closer to home, will be successful and reminds him that he is missing his youngest daughter's "babyhood." She also asks if he can get a pass on the Burlington and Missouri Railroad for his sister, Marion K. McMurphy, telling him "you can scarcely afford to pay out so much money, if it can be avoided."
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August 15, 1867
Letter to Jennie Reed, August 15, 1867
In this letter from August 15, 1867, Mina writes to her sister Jennie Reed, wife of Samuel Reed, discussing her experiences working in Atlanta, Georgia. She states that her pay for the last month was only twenty dollars, as she was only in Atlanta for eleven days. She tells Jennie Reed that she will write to a Mr. Knowlton the next week regarding a railway pass, and hopes to "get up home in a week or two."
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September 12, 1867
Letter from Juliet L. Elwood to Jennie Reed, September 12, 1867
In this letter from September 12, 1867, Juliet L. Elwood writes to Jennie Reed, wife of Samuel Reed, discussing plans to travel to St. Louis and the possibility of accompanying her on a trip to Omaha, Nebraska. She inquires about the prospects of Mrs. Reed procuring a railway pass for her for the journey. She also details an encounter she had on the railroad cars during a day trip to Joliet, Illinois with a "military gentleman" who knew Samuel Reed. She states that she "understood him to say he was Prest of Pacific Road, but I think I must of course have misunderstood, as Gen Dix is President, or was."
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July 23, 1877
Cause of the Strike and a Remedy
This article from the July 23, 1877 edition of the Chicago Daily Tribune outlines the various causes of the strike—placing blame on railroad workers and railroad executives—and stresses that the remedy to this situation can only be achieved once mob rule has been replace by law and order.
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July 23, 1877
Timely Advice
This article from the July 23, 1877 edition of the St. Louis Dispatch advises the Missouri Pacific Railroad to "set the example to other roads to promptly acquiesce in all reasonable demands" by the workers in order to peacefully end the railroad strike.
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July 23, 1877
[Let Us Have Peace]
This article from the July 23, 1877 edition of the Chicago Inter-Ocean argues that a strike cannot be allowed to start in Chicago, or the city will see the same bloodshed and violence as in Baltimore and Pittsburgh. The editors state that violence must not be allowed to flourish; despite the contention between railroad workers and railroad executives, peace should trump workplace disagreements.
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July 23, 1877
The Great Strike
This article from the July 23, 1877 edition of the Chicago Daily Tribune suggests that railroad corporations should adopt new policies to meet the needs of railroad workers, which will also keep many of the corporations from falling into bankruptcy.
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July 23, 1877
Bad Allies
In this article from the July 23, 1877 edition of the Toledo Blade, the editors support the striking railroad workers, but condemn the "mob of scoundrels who took advantage of the occasion to commit all sorts of depredations."
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July 23, 1877
The Strike
This article from the July 23, 1877 edition of the St. Louis Daily Globe-Democrat condemns the recent actions of the railroad strikers and hopes that the city can avoid a repeat of the violence in Pittsburgh, where the mob has "pillaged and burned and murdered in the carnival of crime."
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July 24, 1877
The Strike
This article from the July 24, 1877 edition of the St. Louis Dispatch notes the outbreak of violence in the city and states that "the railroad war in St. Louis has actually begun." The newspaper condemns the workers who are destroying property, but supports the "real workingmen" who "do not cut their own throats in this way."
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July 24, 1877
Progress of the Strike
This article from the July 24, 1877 edition of the St. Louis Daily Globe-Democrat commends the actions of the Missouri railroads, which have done their best to support the workers and have "removed the last excuse for disorder or violence." The editors condemn Communists, but support the striking workers in their quest for higher wages—a request the newspaper hopes the company will consider.
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July 25, 1877
The Tyranny of the "Brotherhood"
This article from the July 25, 1877 edition of the Toledo Blade states the newspaper's strong oppositon to the "tyranny" of the railroad union, whose "managers care nothing for the welfare of the community at large, nor the best good of its members."
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July 25, 1877
The Chicago Strike
This article from the July 25, 1877 edition of the Chicago Inter-Ocean gives notice of the newspaper's support for the striking workers. The editors state that "we recognize their privilege to do as they please about working, and shall utter no reproach against them," as long as they abstain from violence.
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1850 | Annual report
Annual Report to the President and Directors of the Board of Public Works, 1850
When proposed and the first efforts made in 1850, the Blue Ridge Tunnel was to be the longest tunnel in North America. Claudius Crozet, as chief engineer, warns his Board of Public Works against comparing its progress with other tunnels. The condition of the rock and the scale of the project were different and unprecedented, respectively. Crozet tries to educate the Board on the nature of the project.
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December 24, 1864 | Annual report
Report from Division Engineer Samuel B. Reed to Chief Engineer Peter A. Dey Describing Survey from Green River to Salt Lake City, December 24, 1864
In this December 24, 1864 report, Samuel B. Reed describes his surveys and explorations of the land from Green River, Utah to Salt Lake City. He gives his recommendations for the route of the Union Pacific Railroad line, including the availability of timber for railroad ties and coal to power the locomotives.
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January 31, 1866 | Annual report
Report of Division Engineer Samuel B. Reed: Surveys Made on Pacific Slope for the Union Pacific Railroad, 1865
In this January 31, 1866 report, Samuel B. Reed describes his surveys and explorations of the land from Salt Lake City, Utah to the California state line. He gives his recommendations for the route of the Union Pacific Railroad and suggests building the line from West to East (rather than from East to West), due to timber availability. He further suggests that subsequent survey crews should use camels, rather than horses or mules, due to the lack of water on a good portion of the route.
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1842 | Book
American Notes for General Consideration
Dicken's American Notes came from his 1842 trip to the United States. The author visited prisons, politicians, and toured primarily in New England and the Great Lakes region. In this excerpt, he describes American train travel in its early period, segregated railcars, and the distinctions between gentlemen's and ladies' cars.
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1850 | Book
Phelps's Travellers' Guide Through the United States
This pocket atlas listed over 700 railroads, steamship lines, and canals in the United States and their routes of service, state by state. Frederick Douglass probably consulted a rudimentary timetable in the Baltimore newspaper or one posted at the depot for the Baltimore to Philadelphia route, described here twelve years after Douglass made his escape from slavery on the Philadelphia, Wilmington, & Baltimore Railroad.
