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  • | Illustration

    Hours of Departure of the Passenger Trains

    Note the delicate illustration of the passenger car in this advertisement.

  • | Illustration

    Viaduct on Baltimore and Washington Railroad

    A steel-engraved image by Henry Adlard, from a drawing by William Henry Barlett, in American Scenery or Land, Lake, and River Illustrations of Transatlantic Nature.

  • | 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.

  • | Document

    Travel Order Freedmen's Bureau

    A Freedmen's Bureau travel voucher for 107 adults and 16 children (under 12) - "destitute freedpeople" traveling from Charlotte, North Carolina to Plaquemines, Louisiana. Generally, when large numbers of freedpeople travelled, it was under the terms of a labor contract.

  • | Document

    Travel Accounting, Freedmen's Bureau

    An accounting of Freedmen's Bureau-sponsored travel on the Virginia Central Railroad during the first half of 1867. Many emancipated African Americans traveled American railroads to old and new homes in the wake of the Civil War - the Freemen's Burueau paid for much of the travel.

  • | Document

    Order for travel, Freedmen's Bureau

    A type of travel document issued for travel under the auspices of the Freemen's Bureau. This August 22, 1866, voucher authorizes travel from Washington, D. C. to Southwick, Massachusetts on the Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore Railroad. Many emancipated African Americans traveled American railroads to old and new homes in the wake of the Civil War - the Freemen's Burueau paid for much of the travel.

  • | Diary

    Rutherford B. Hayes Comments on the 1877 Railroad Strike

    In this 1877 excerpt from Rutherford B. Hayes' diary, the President notes the positive qualities of the railroad men who are on strike, but sees their actions as detrimental to those who wish to work. He also wonders what actions could be taken to "end or dimish the evil" of strikes.

  • | Diary

    Rutherford B. Hayes Diary Entry, August 2, 1877

    This August 2, 1877 entry from President Rutherford B. Hayes' diary notes the proximity of his relatives to the violence in Pittsburgh.

  • | Diary

    Rutherford B. Hayes Diary entry, August 5, 1877

    This August 5, 1877 entry in his diary, President Rutherford B. Hayes affirms his views of limited government and the free labor right of contract, as well as his concerns about the "capitalists."

  • | Contract

    Burlington Northern Land Contract, August 8, 1877

    In this August 8, 1877 application to buy land from the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad Company, Joseph Fischer purchases 160 acres in Lancaster County, Nebraska for $7.00 per acre. An immigrant from Bohemia, Fischer took advantage of the railroad's 10-year credit plan to finance his new purchase. Railroad credit plans enabled immigrants and others who lacked ready cash to buy land.

  • | Contract

    Burlington Northern Land Contract, Febrauary 10, 1877

    In this February 10, 1877 application to buy land from the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad Company, 80 acres of land in Lancaster County, Nebraska are sold for $7.00 per acre. This immigrant took advantage of railroad lands to increase his property holdings, as he already owned land in Nebraska.

  • | Contract

    Burlington Northern Land Contract, June 26, 1876

    In this June 26, 1876 application to buy land from the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad Company, a Bohemian purchases 80 acres in Lancaster County, Nebraska, only eight days after arriving in the United States and four days after arriving in Nebraska. In a little over a week, this immigrant used the railroad as a means of transport across the country and as a vehicle of acquiring property.

  • | Contract

    Burlington Northern Land Contract, August Wilke

    In this application to buy land from the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad Company, August Wilke purchases 40 acres in Lancaster County, Nebraska for $5.50 per acre. A German immigrant who had lived in the United States for 16 years, Wilke already owned a homestead in the section adjacent to the one purchased here. Railroad land sales offered immigrants who had established themselves earlier the chance to increase their holdings.

  • | Contract

    Burlington Northern Land Contract, August 30, 1875

    In this August 30, 1875 application to buy land from the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad Company, 80 acres in Lancaster County, Nebraska sell for $6.00 per acre. Vaclav Krenek, who arrived from Prague, Bohemia seven months before he filled out this application, notes on his application that he owns no other land in Nebraska. Railroad land sales provided immigrants the chance to become property owners soon after their arrival.

  • | Contract

    Burlington Northern Land Contract, June 16, 1874

    In this June 16, 1874 application to buy land from the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad Company, Hungarian Andreas Mosser purchases land in Lancaster County, Nebraska. Mosser's application is especially remarkable, as he lists his time in the United States as "14 days" and his time in Nebraska as "8 days". The railroad clearly played an instrumental role in Mosser's new life in America, both by selling him his own land and likely by transporting him across the country to take possession of it, all within the span of only two weeks.