September 26, 1896 | Speech
Speech by William Jennings Bryan.
August 17, 1896 | Speech
Speech by William Jennings Bryan.
1861 | Photograph
1858 | Illustration
This 1858 advertisement for the Barnum Hotel in Baltimore promotes the hotel, notes a few of its luxuries, and boasts of the ability to house 600 guests. Railroads helped inaugurate a wide array of luxury hotels designed to meet the needs of a traveling public and business class.
September 19, 1896 | Speech
Speech by William Jennings Bryan.
September 19, 1896 | Speech
Speech by William Jennings Bryan.
October 8, 1862 | Illustration
This image from the October 8, 1862 issue of Harper's Weekly depicts the railroad station in Hancock, Maryland.
October 20, 1862 | Rate Tables
This Baltimore and Ohio Railroad passenger rate table, which took effect October 20, 1862, includes a note from E. W. Barker which states that, "This Tariff was in force from the 20th Oct. 1862 to 1st Jany. 1863."
June 1, 1858 | Rate Tables
This June 1, 1858 table outlines the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad's coal tariff rates to and from various locations. The B & O set its rates based on a "per ton" weight of 2,240 pounds.
1880 | Time Table
The Baltimore and Ohio was one of the oldest railroads in the nation and the first to break through the Allegheny Mountains to reach the Ohio River in 1857. In its 1880 time table the railroad stressed the natural features and wonders along its route and its picturesque sites. The road also used a massive map of the nation to expose its western connections.
1858 | Photograph
Following its 1857 grand banquet, the B & O hosted an artists? excursion in 1858 to show off its dramatic vistas and massive tunnels. The men and women took turns riding precariously on the cowcatcher, Harper?s Weekly reported, to get a "better view of the grand scenes which were opening before and around them . . . such was the confidence felt in the steadiness and docility of the mighty steed."
July 21, 1877 | Newspaper
This article from the July 21, 1877 issue of the Baltimore American describes the attitude of the crowd during the Baltimore riots.
July 23, 1877
In this article from the July 23, 1877 edition of the Toledo Blade, the editors support the striking railroad workers, but condemn the "mob of scoundrels who took advantage of the occasion to commit all sorts of depredations."
1882 | Pamphlet
This translation of an 1882 German language document published by the Burlington Railroad Land Commissioner has an index of Nebraska land agents, describes the lands available for purchase, and presents a list of 12 advantages to living in the Nebraska. The railroad also touts its role in settling the region, noting that it "open[s] the land, develop[s] traffic with the rest of the world, and connect[s] resident[s] to the marketplace". It also claims that "the progress in this region has been remarkable since the building of the Burlington road ten years ago, the district has been rapidly populated with the best and solidest class of immigrant", showing both the railroad companies' targeting of immigrants as land buyers and their perception of their role in settling the Plains.
November 2, 1896 | Speech
Speech by William Jennings Bryan.
November 1, 1854 | Letter
When two slaves were killed on the Blue Ridge Tunnel project, slaveholders held the Virginia Board of Public Works, which had hired slaves through contractors, liable for the losses. Affidavits were taken on the value of the slaves, their character and history. The Attorney General of Virginia, W. P. Bocock, ruled that whether the slaves were killed on the Virginia Central Rail Road Co. or the Blue Ridge project was immaterial, and that the Board of Public Works was liable for reasonable compensation to the slaveholders.
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.
August 7, 1896 | Speech
Speech by William Jennings Bryan.
1887 | Time Table
The Atlantic and Pacific Railroad's 1887 time table featured the speed of its route from St. Louis, Kansas City, or Chicago to Los Angeles. The time table emphasized express trains and fewer changes of cars than competing lines.
N.D. | Time Table
The Atlantic & Great Western Railroad stressed its safety record and comfortable, elegant, luxurious cars. The time table quotes former Illinois Congressman Elihu B. Washburn on the road's smooth ride and "clean, light, and airy" setting. The road also boasted that its passengers traveling in its beautifully appointed Pullman cars would "not have to leave the train between Chicago, Cincinnati, and St. Louis."