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  • | Legal decision

    Railroad Company v. Brown, 84 U.S. 17 Wall. 445 445 (1873)

    In 1868, Catherine Brown, an African American woman, was ejected from the "ladies car" on the Washington, Alexandria, and Georgetown Railroad Company when traveling from Alexandria, Virginia, to the District of Columbia. Brown sued the rail company and the case was appealed to the United States Supreme Court - the first case addressing race and public transportation to appear before the Court. Although the legal status of the railroad under Congressional rulings that had applied to earlier iterations of the company became a basis for appeal, the rights of African Americans became the most notable outcome of the Supreme Court's decision for Brown in 1873.

  • | Journal

    Our Civil Rights

    As African American civil rights are threatened with increasing segregation, a writer for a noted African American publication analyzes the situation.

  • | Illustration

    The Police Watching, In Concealement, The Crowd in Tompkins Square

    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.

  • | Illustration

    Artists' Excursion Over The Baltimore & Ohio Rail Road

    Noteworthy for its marvelous illlustrations, this feature article portrays the joys of railroad travel.

  • | Illustration

    Nisi Pro Nobis

    "Except for us" - sun coming out after a cloudy journey.

  • | Illustration

    In The Beginning

  • | Illustration

    Anno Domini MMMM.DCCC.LIX

    The artist envisions the lasting legacy of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.

  • | Illustration

    A Brother Artist

    A visual representation of the relationship between photographers and painters.

  • | Illustration

    Modern Chivalry

    Chivalry is part and parcel of the conductor's work.

  • | Illustration

    LEFT

    The plight of the tardy traveller is part and parcel of the narrative of travel.

  • | Illustration

    Ascending the Alleghanies

    A key illustration from the article features artists and guests riding the engine.

  • | Illustration

    The Model Conductor

    The characters encoutered along the rail journey are part of the artist's experience.

  • | Illustration

    The Old World and the New

    American railroad progress is compared with the adoption of the technology in England.

  • | Illustration

    View From the Bluffs at Catawissa

  • | Government report

    Testimony of Robert Pitcairn to the Committee

    Robert Pitcairn served as the Pittsburg division superintendent of the Pennsylvania Railroad and had ordered the double-heading of trains on July 19th for all eastbound traffic. Because trains would be twice as long but run with fewer trainmen, workers on the Pennsylvania refused to run the trains and the strike spread from the Baltimore and Ohio onto the Pennsylvania lines. Pitcairn describes his view of the violence in Pittsburg, emphasizing the restraint of the military and the riotousness of the "crowd." Pitcairn places special emphasis on the role of the women in the crowd.

  • | Government report

    Testimony of Roger O'Mara, Chief of Detectives of Pittsburgh

    Roger O'Mara, Pittsburgh Chief of Detectives testified on February 11, 1878 to the committee appointed to investigate the railroad strikes. He emphasizes the inability of the local police force to serve warrants and restrain the crowd.

  • | Government report

    Testimony by Norman M. Smith, manager of the Pittsburgh transfer station for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company

    Norman M. Smith describes the moment of firing into the crowd in Pittsburgh and his impressions of the military and the "mob."

  • | Government report

    Testimony of Soloman Coulson, a police officer at the time of the Pittsburgh riot

    Testimony given on February 12, 1878 by Soloman Coulson, a Pittsburgh police officer, described the violence at the railroad roundhouse and the makeup of the crowd gathered outside the roundhouse.

  • | Government report

    Testimony of Major Erasmus L. Wentz, Superintendent of Norfolk and Petersburg R.R

    Major Erasmus L. Wentz, supervising work on the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad, testifies as to the quality of contraband labor over that of Irish workers. Wentz notes that the contrabands work for less pay.

  • | Government document

    Senate Report on Catharine Brown

    The U.S. Senate Committee on the District of Columbia hears testimony about the forcible ejection of Catherine Brown from the Alexandria and Washington Railroad coach. Multiple witnesses are called and the circumstances of her removal are described.