August 25, 1894 | Newspaper
Republican U.S. Senate candidate John M. Thurston campaigned at local party club meetings across the state in 1894, poking fun of the turbulence in the Democratic and Populist opposition and of his opponent, William Jennings Bryan.
August 24, 1894 | Newspaper
Edward Rosewater, a Republican leader and editor of the Daily Bee, accuses the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad of lavishing free passes as bribes to get Thomas Majors the Republican nomination for governor in 1894.
October 30, 1893 | Newspaper
The Anti-Separate Coach Committee of Kentucky begins to lobby against the Jim Crow laws recently passed by the state legislature.
April 5, 1893 | Newspaper
The decision for Maime Caldwell in her case against the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad Company for discrimination is briefly recounted, noting the final award of $800.
1893 | Time Table
The Chicago Great Western Railway's 1893 time table placed its line in the center of a globe-like image. The road stressed its comfortable "compartmented sleeping cars."
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.
April 4, 1892 | Journal
As African American civil rights are threatened with increasing segregation, a writer for a noted African American publication analyzes the situation.
1892 | Time Table
This 1892 Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe time table featured detailed insets with maps of its subsidiary lines.
1892 | Book
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.
September 3, 1891 | Newspaper
A reponse from the Southern Pacific following an Interstate Commerce Commission ruling that African Americans making trips crossing state lines could not be ejected from first-class cars.
August 20, 1891 | Time Table
The Chicago, Burlington & Northern's 1891 time table adopted a compass-like circular image representing the major points accessible on the line. This table also featured the history of the line and the picturesque sites along its route.
February 7, 1891 | Time Table
October 4, 1890 | Broadsides
In this October 4, 1890 broadside, the Union Pacific Railroad offers a $200 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individuals who attempted to derail a train.
1890 | Law
The Louisiana Railway Accommodations Act mandates "equal but separate" rail travel in the state.
1890 | Book
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.
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.
March 13, 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. In this exchange, G. W. Holdredge, General Manager of the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad and H. B. Stone, Vice President of the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad Company, work to clarify the status of workers who may or may not be eligible for re-hire. Railroad companies made an effort to keep agitators and violent strikers from reentering the railroad workforce.
February 11, 1889 | Letter
The C, B & Q Master Mechanic for West Burlington, Iowa, reports on the work history of several firemen and hostlers who were re-applying for work in the wake of the 1888 strike. Master Mechanic West indicated employees with hash tags (#) who should never be rehired.
February 10, 1889 | Letter
The C, B & Q Master Mechanic for West Burlington, Iowa, reports on the work history of several engineers who were re-applying for work in the wake of the 1888 strike. Master Mechanic West indicated employees with hash tags (#) who should never be rehired.
January 5, 1889 | Newspaper
A correspondent of the New York Age reports on an Atlanta Evening Journal article recounting the expulsion of Reverend T. H. Lee from a Georgia Railroad Company coach.