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March 4, 1868
Catharine Brown, Complaint
Catharine Brown filed suit against the Washington, Alexandria and Georgetown Railroad in March 1868, arguing that a month earlier she was forcibly and violently ejected from the ladies car in Alexandria, Virginia, because of her color. She sought damages of $20,000 to pay for her medical care and to compensate for the injustice of segregation and discrimination. Brown's original petition focused on the railroad's duty as a common carrier and on Brown's first-class ticket which permitted her to ride in the ladies car.
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March 31, 1883
Bishop Campbell's Indignity
The expulsion of an African American preacher from a Georgia rail car draws the ire of Philadelphia citizens.
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1848 | Annual report
Proceedings of the First Annual Meeting of the Stockholders of the Richmond and Danville Railroad Company
This collection of reports given at the first annual meeting of the stockholders of the Richmond and Danville Railroad Company in 1848 includes extensive information about the financial status of the railroad. Whit'l P. Tunstall, president of the company, also presents an extensive argument for Virginia's railroad development, predicated on the successes of railroads in other states.
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1850 | Annual report
Annual Report to the President and Directors of the Board of Public Works, 1850
When proposed and the first efforts made in 1850, the Blue Ridge Tunnel was to be the longest tunnel in North America. Claudius Crozet, as chief engineer, warns his Board of Public Works against comparing its progress with other tunnels. The condition of the rock and the scale of the project were different and unprecedented, respectively. Crozet tries to educate the Board on the nature of the project.
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December 1, 1856 | Annual report
The Mountain Top Track
This December 1, 1856 report details the high maintenance costs for track running through the Blue Ridge mountains.
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September 11, 1865 | Annual report
Circular to the Bondholders and Creditors of the Southern Railroad Company, of the State of Mississippi
This September 11, 1865 circular reports on the condition and financial status of the Southern Railroad Company after the Civil War.
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1867 | Annual report
Report on the Condition and Prospects of the Southern Railroad of Mississippi
This report details the financial and material state of the Southern Railroad Company in 1867.
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1855 | Book
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.
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1861 | Book
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.
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March 17, 1864 | 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.
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1882 | 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.
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1892 | 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.
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1893 | 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.
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1901 | Book
The Marrow of Tradition
In this excerpt from Charles Chesnutt's novel, the African American doctor protagonist faces the reality of segregation on Southern railroads.
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N.D. | Contract
Slave sale receipt, blank
A blank receipt for individual slaves from E.H. Stokes of Richmond, Virginia.
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February 22, 1827 | Contract
Bill of Sale for South Carolina Slaves, February 22, 1827
This February 22, 1827 bill describes the sale of a dozen South Carolina slaves—"Dolly, Jacke, Jemmy, Grace, Dinah, Liddy, John and an infant, Paul, Hagar, Jack and Jane"—from "the estate of Arnoldus Vanderhorst, deceased" to Edward Frost for $3,020. Frost was President of the Blue Ridge Rail Road in South Carolina.
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December 23, 1853 | Contract
Contract for Negro Slaves, December 23, 1853
In December 1853, George A. Farrow and David Hansbrough signed a contract with the Blue Ridge Railroad to provide fifty slaves to assist in the construction of the Blue Ridge railroad tunnel.
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November 23, 1855 | Contract
Receipt for Purchase of a Slave
This 1855 receipt describes the purchase of a young female slave and her two children.
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February 20, 1858 | Contract
Receipt for Purchase of a Slave
This receipt and letter describes the terms of sale for a slave in 1858.
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March 5, 1860 | Contract
Receipt for Sale of Slaves to the Mississippi Central Railroad Company, March 5, 1860 (#2)
This March 5, 1860 receipt lists the names, ages, and purchase price of 31 slaves "sold & delivered" to the Mississippi Central Railroad.
