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  • | Illustration

    "The Moral of the Strikes"

    An illustration of "The Moral of the Strikes" which emphasizes their cost to working-class women and children.

  • | Illustration

    "Wife—I Guess We've Got To Strike!"

    This cover illustration from the August 1, 1877 issue of PUCK Magazine depicts a poor family's decision to go on strike.

  • | Book

    A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains

    Isabella Bird, a peripatetic traveler, recounted her adventures in the American West to her sister in letters published as A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains. In this excerpt, she writes about part of her 1873 train journey, describing the parlor car and conditions on the train.

  • | Photograph

    A Manicure on the "Modern Train"

    This image from The Modern Railroad (1911) captures a white, female passenger receiving a manicure from an African-American woman while aboard the railroad.

  • | Book

    A Manual of Etiquette with Hints on Politeness and Good Breeding

    Manuals of etiquette and behavior were incredibly popular during the 19th Century and covered every aspect of life from infancy to mourning. In this excerpt, some of the gendered expectations placed on a well-bred traveler are recounted in detail.

  • | Book

    A Voice From the South: By A Woman of the South

    Anna J. Cooper, the first African American woman to earn a PhD, worked as a speaker, educator, and reformer. In this excerpt from Voice From the South Cooper addresses the contrast between the expectations of any middle-class, well-dressed woman traveling and the realities of the experience for African American women. Read with Richard Wells' Manners, Culture and Dress of the Best American Society, also featured on this site.

  • | Legal decision

    Benjamin H. Hinds Deposition

    Catharine Brown's attorneys deposed two white men who were on the train with Brown and witnessed her expulsion from the cars in Alexandria. Both lived in Maine and were deposed in December 1869. Benjamin Hinds' testimony was particularly significant because he described in detail the violence he witnessed, and because he knew Brown "since January 1866," perhaps from her work in the U.S. Capitol, and tried to intervene on her behalf.

  • Catharine Brown, Complaint

    Catharine Brown filed suit against the Washington, Alexandria and Georgetown Railroad in March 1868, arguing that a month earlier she was forcibly and violently ejected from the ladies car in Alexandria, Virginia, because of her color. She sought damages of $20,000 to pay for her medical care and to compensate for the injustice of segregation and discrimination. Brown's original petition focused on the railroad's duty as a common carrier and on Brown's first-class ticket which permitted her to ride in the ladies car.

  • | Legal decision

    Catharine Brown, Plaintiff's Prayers

    A brief description of the judgement Catherine Brown hoped for as the jury decided her case.

  • | Newspaper

    DISCRIMINATION ON ACCOUNT OF COLOR ON RAILROADS

    The New York Times reported on its front page the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Catharine Brown's case. The case aroused Republicans to reconsider the intent and purpose of the Congress in the midst of the Civil War because it turned on the railroad's Congressional charter from 1863 which clearly barred any discrimination on the basis of race or color. The railroad's main argument before the Supreme Court rested first on the idea that separate cars were customary, locally sanctioned, and equally accommodated, and second on the specious reasoning that because they carried colored passengers they had not violated the Congressional charter--colored persons were carried, just in a different car. The spirit of the Congress in 1863, the Court decided, suggested otherwise. The decision, however significant and newsworthy, was sorely limited in its application. Only a handful of railroads in the District of Columbia possessed such language in their originating charters.

  • | Legal decision

    Draft of Catharine Brown, Evidence Given

    Catharine Brown's case--Case No. 4582--was scheduled to go to trial in October 1868 in the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia, but was delayed because of various procedural motions by the railroad's attorneys. When these motions were denied, the case was tried over three days in March 1870. The all white jury rendered a verdict of guilty against the railroad company and awarded Brown $1,500 in damages. Then, the defendant railroad attorney's sought an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Here is their statement of argument, denying that the railroad used violence or made derogatory remarks. Furthermore, in denying Brown's claims, the railroad argued that there were distinctions between through and local passenger types of service, even on the Baltimore and Ohio, and that separate colored cars on local lines were run at the request of black passengers.

  • | Illustration

    Farewell!

    This image from the October 9, 1859 issue of Harper's Weekly depicts a farewell exchange between a man and woman.

  • | Letter

    Letter from A. M. Clapp to Daniel Craig McCallum, March 14, 1864

    McCallum is presented with two female volunteers and asked to provide transportation if their services are needed.

  • Letter from Danforth H. Ainsworth to Samuel B. Reed, November 29, 1863

    In this letter from November 29, 1863, Danforth H. Ainsworth writes to Samuel Reed informing him of his new position with the Mississippi and Missouri Railroad. He states that he is glad to have the position, even if it only pays $75.00 per month. Ainsworth also notes the progress of the work of their mutual friend and fellow railroad employee, John R. Boyle, and asks Reed to write to him at his new position as often as he has the chance.

  • | Letter

    Letter from George S. Rosser to Adna Anderson, September 16 , 1864

    George Rosser asks that small houses be built for the families of black railroad laborers.

  • | Letter

    Letter from J. W. Garrett to General M. C. Meigs, August 9, 1862

    The President of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad writes to General Meigs about the treatment of nurses on his rail line following an incident reported by Dorothea Dix.

  • 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."

  • Letter from Samuel B. Reed to Children, January 30, 1863

    In this letter from January 30, 1863, Samuel Reed writes to his young daughters, Anne and Mary, in response to a letter they penned to him. He encourages them to write to him on their own as often as they can, and tells them how much he wishes he could "travel as fast as my thougts" and come home to them.

  • | Letter

    Letter from Samuel B. Reed to Jennie Reed, May 3, 1863

    In this letter from May 3, 1863, Samuel Reed writes to his wife asking when she will come to Burlington, Iowa to visit him and possibly pick up a relative. He states that he may not be able to leave for a visit home that month, but will send her a railroad pass over the Chicago Burlington and Quincy Railroad "as soon as one can be obtained from Chicago."

  • | Letter

    Letter from Samuel B. Reed to Jennie Reed, September 11, 1863

    In this letter from September 11, 1863, Samuel Reed writes to his wife describing how busy he has been for the past week. He tells her he is uncertain whether or not he will be able to "get the passes you so much desire," as an order has recently been issued barring the granting of railroad passes for ladies. Reed also notes that since he returned from surveying land west of Ottumwa, Iowa, he has been thinking that he may return home to Joliet, Illinois for the winter if work is not commenced in the fall.