1852 | Book
An excerpt from Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin.
1861 | Photograph
Construction corps at work on the Aquia Creek and Fredericksburg Railroad.
October 15, 1896 | Speech
Speech by William Jennings Bryan.
1935 | Artwork
September 2, 1896 | Speech
Speech by William Jennings Bryan.
November 6, 1841 | Newspaper
The plight of African Americans and their abolitionist supporters on New England railroads is addressed in depth in this passionate editorial.
September 19, 1896 | Speech
This speech, delivered by Nebraska Senator John M. Thurston on September 19, 1896, addresses an audience of workingmen and mechanics in Chicago, Illinois. In his address, Thurston argues that the "promise of something for nothing is false and dangerous to the people."
April 27, 1889 | Letter
Following the strike of 1888, railroad officials were careful to avoid hiring union members and employees who had "behaved badly" during the 45-day strike. Thomas Calvert, as General Superintendent in Lincoln, worked with railroad officials to help in the process of regulating re-employment.
June 18, 1868 | Newspaper
The railroad's segregation of Catharine Brown in February 1868 and her subsequent lawsuit against the company came to the immediate attention of Senator Charles Sumner (Massachusetts) and Senator Waitman Willey (West Virginia), both of whom sat on the Senate's District of Columbia Committee. At their urging, the Senate Committee launched an investigation into the affair, deposed dozens of witnesses, and issued a stinging report against the railroad company. Many of these same witnesses testified later in Brown's civil suit against the railroad company.
October 10, 1922 | Photograph
This is a photograph taken at the unveiling of the Samuel B. Reed monument in Joliet, Illinois on October 10, 1922. The monument is still located on the grounds of the Joliet, Illinois Will County Court House, approximately 75 feet from the northeast corner of the building. It reads: "On this spot in 1850 Samuel Benedict Reed, Civil Engineer, pioneer railroad builder, citizen of Joliet, began the survey for the present Chicago Rock Island and Pacific, the first railroad to reach and bridge the Mississippi River. The first train into Joliet reached this initial point October 10, 1852. As Chief Engineer of Construction he directed the building of the Union Pacific, the first trans-continental railroad, the completion of which in 1869 realized the dream of Columbus: a westward trade route to the Indies. This rock from the summit of the Continental Divide on the line of the Union Pacific was placed here through the cooperation of these two railroads and dedicated October 10, 1922."
1869 | Artwork
July 24, 1877 | Newspaper
This July 24, 1877 article from the Pittsburgh Daily Post notes the strike's spread throughout the country.
January 25, 1884 | Newspaper
This description of the masculine, almost class-free atmosphere in the smoking car is in sharp contrast to the requirements of the "ladies' cars" expected for middle-class female travelers. Note the sense of freedom men seem to experience in the cars.
1921 | Book
Zitkalà-Sa (Gertrude Bonnin) writes about her sense of dislocation on the railroad as she was taken to boarding school and the feelings she had on her return home.
1885 | Time Table
The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe's 1885 time table emphasized its connections not only to California but also to Mexico City on the Mexico Central Railroad. Its large map featured detailed insets of Baja California and Mexico for tourists and travelers, and its inside folds described special rates for "land explorers" and emigrants.
1864 | Photograph
1907 | Book
An excerpt from Jack London's The Road.
1893 | Book
Ida B. Wells, Frederick Douglass, Irvine Garland Penn, Ferdinand L. Barnett, and Frederick Loudin published The Reason Why in response to the exclusion of Afircan Americans and their contributions to American life from the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. The excerpt included here is part of Wells' contribution and includes the Tennessee separate coach law.
July 18, 1877 | Newspaper
On July 18, 1877, President Rutherford B. Hayes issued a proclamation calling the citizens engaged in the strike to peacefully disperse and return to their homes.
August 11, 1877 | Illustration
Although there was no large-scale unrest in New York, crowds did gather in Tompkins Square during the Railroad Strike. Tompkins Square had been the site of civil unrest and rioting at several points in New York history, including during the 1863 Draft Riots, and police feared speakers would rile up strike supporters.