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  • | Book

    Uncle Tom's Cabin

    An excerpt from Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin.

  • | Book

    Walden

    An excerpt from Henry David Thoreau's Walden. The progress represented by the railroad presents a mixed legacy to the rural life Thoreau treasures.

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    My Bondage and My Freedom

    In this excerpt from My Bondage and My Freedom, Frederick Douglass recounts the segregation of Northern railcars and the attitudes of Northern passengers.

  • | Book

    The Book of the Great Railway Celebrations of 1857

    Works like The Book of The Great Railway Celebrations were published with multiple purposes - they served great publicity for railroad companies and town boosters, as well as celebrations of technological advancements and ingenuity. The detailed illustrations and descriptions of the celebrations also made them prized souvenirs for event attendees.

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    Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

    In these excerpts from her memoir, Harriet Jacobs writes of the segregation and prejudice she faced in the North almost immediately after escaping from slavery.

  • | Book

    The Congressional Globe [excerpts]

    In these excerpts from a Senate debate over regulations for a District of Columbia street railroad, many typical arguments for and against public segregation are aired in language that also reveals attitudes towards race and equality as the Civil War continued.

  • | Book

    Beyond the Mississippi; from the Great River to the Great Ocean

    Albert D. Richardson's Beyond the Mississippi; from the Great River to the Great Ocean is a detailed and exciting account of life and travels in the West and Far West in the years before the transcontinental railroad was completed. From Native American life, to gold fields, to emigrant trains, Richardson's portrayals of the region are interesting and informative. In this section, he describes the building of the transcontinental railroad in Nebraska - "the Conquest of Nature moving toward the Pacific."

  • | Book

    Woman's Work in the Civil War:

    Published to celebrate the work of women during the Civil War, Woman's Work in the Civil War features the efforts of nurses, reformers, fund-raisers, and wives and mothers. In the section excerpted below, Miss Brayton of Ohio vividly describes the interior of a hospital train and recounts her experiences on one.

  • | Book

    The Von Toodleburgs

    An excerpt from F. Colburn Adams' The Von Toodleburgs.

  • | 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

    Strikers, Communists, Tramps and Detectives

    In this excerpt from Allan Pinkerton's Strikers, Communists, Tramps and Detectives, Pinkerton gives his opinion regarding the origin of America's Great Railway Strike of 1877.

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    Democracy, An American Novel

    An excerpt from Henry Adams' Democracy, An American Novel.

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    Leaves of Grass

    An excerpt from Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass. Whitman salutes the locomotive as a symbol of progress and writes of the hallmarks of a Western journey.

  • | Book

    Nemo, King of the Tramps: A Story of the Great Railroad Riots

    This Dime Novel, written in 1881 by Captain Fred Whittaker, offers a popular, fictional account of the Great Railway Strike of 1877.

  • | Book

    Life and Times of Frederick Douglass, Written by Himself

    In this excerpt, Douglass relates the details of his dangerous escape from slavery. Traveling the railroad with borrowed papers, he flees to New York.

  • | 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.

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    Manners, Culture and Dress of the Best American Society

    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 highly gendered expectations placed on a well-bred traveler on the railroad or on a steamboat are explained 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.

  • | Book

    The Reason Why the Colored American is not in the World's Columbian Exposition

    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.

  • | Book

    The Awakening

    An excerpt from Kate Chopin's The Awakening.