December 13, 1862 | Illustration
Harper's Weekly featured regular illustrations of southern towns and battlefields for Northern audiences following the war. This image of Fredericksburg echoes a photograph by Matthew Brady.
December 12, 1863 | Illustration
Northern audiences were hungry for information and images related to the war effort. Washington D.C. and Northern Virginia were focal points and thus often photographed and presented as illustrations.
August 11, 1877 | Illustration
This August 11, 1877 image from Leslie's Illustrated depicts the smoldering ruins of the roundhouse and shops at Pittsburgh after the riots. Such scenes of devastation, rendered from the vantage point and perspective to see the whole scope, were similar to images of destruction in the Civil War.
August 11, 1877 | Illustration
This August 11, 1877 image from Leslie's Illustrated depicts strikers tearing up the track and bridge near Corning, New York in advance of an oncoming engine. These confrontations were both organized and spontaneous, dependent on the deep experience and expertise of the railroad workers with the operation of the roads.
1878 | Illustration
Railroad detective Allan Pinkerton's history of the strike emphasized the unruliness of the mob and the threat of foreign, anarchist, and communist influences on American labor. Here, his illustration shows the military defending law and order, firing their weapons into a mob in Baltimore during the 1877 strike.
1878 | Illustration
Railroad detective Allan Pinkerton's history of the strike emphasized the unruliness of the mob and the threat of foreign, anarchist, and communist influences on American labor. Here, his illustration shows the rioters' attempt to burn down Baltimore's Camden Station during the 1877 railroad strike.
1878 | Illustration
Railroad detective Allan Pinkerton's history of the strike emphasized the unruliness of the mob and the threat of foreign, anarchist, and communist influences on American labor. He also emphasized the role of women in inciting the conflict. Here, his illustration shows women leading a mob against the police during the 1877 railroad strike in Baltimore.
1890 | Law
The Louisiana Railway Accommodations Act mandates "equal but separate" rail travel in the state.
1900 | Law
Virginia's separate coach law, approved in January of 1900 and enacted July 1900.
March 4, 1868 | Legal decision
A brief description of the judgement Catherine Brown hoped for as the jury decided her case.
December 31, 1869 | Legal decision
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. Seth Beedy was traveling with Benjamin Hinds, who knew and recognized "Kate" Brown. Beedy testified, "she was ejected by violence and that alone."
December 31, 1869 | Legal decision
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.
April 28, 1870 | Legal decision
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.
N.D. | Letter
In this letter, Willard Grant asks George P. Cather numerous questions about life in Nebraska, including the method for constructing a good sod house, the possibility of raising fruit, the availability of water and timber, and the opportunities for additional work as a mason.
May 6, 1850 | Letter
Claudius Crozet keeps the Board informed of the project's progress on the Blue Ridge and measures that progress in numbers of "hands" employed and the amount of rock and earth moved.
November 15, 1850 | Letter
Claudius Crozet reports on his disagreement with the Tunnel's general contractor.
November 15, 1850 | Letter
The Kelly contract dispute occupied the first year of Claudius Crozet's project to build the Blue Ridge Tunnel. This letter from Kelly to the Governor of Virginia explains the contractor's view of his contract and his disagreement with Claudius Crozet, the chief engineer. Kelly claims his contract was to include the building of some parts of the project, while Crozet let these to another contractor at a much lower price.
January 15, 1851 | Letter
In one of the first reports to the Board, Claudius Crozet explains the dangerous conditions in the construction and advises against using sink shafts on the project. Crozet refers to Col. Randolph, probably Thomas Jefferson Randolph, grandson of Thomas Jefferson and contractor of slaves to the project.
August 2, 1853 | Letter
Claudius Crozet explains what he thinks prompted the strike among the Tunnel workers in April 1853 for $1.50 a day wages.
August 2, 1853 | Letter
Claudius Crozet reports on the changing costs of labor in 1853.