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February 20, 1864 | Letter
Letter from E. Benjamin to Adna Anderson, February 20, 1864
E. Benjamin requests passes for black workers so that they may avoid impressment.
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September 13, 1864 | Letter
Letter from J. M. Nash to Adna Anderson, September 13, 1864
J. M. Nash requests a guard to ensure that the African American engineer at the Lavergne station is not harassed or his work interfered with.
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September 12, 1863
Letter from Sally A. Kendrick to Jennie Reed, September 12, 1863
In this letter from September 12, 1863, Sally A. Kendrick writes to her friend Jennie Reed, wife of Samuel Reed, discussing the recent death of her brother and the war. She speculates that the war will not end until slavery is abolished, but notes that she did not think so until after the fall of Fort Sumter. She states that she is no abolitionist, does not believe in "the equality of the races," and does not "want them here among us," but does "want to see them free and colonized some where." She shares several ideas regarding what should be done with the slaves after they are freed.
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October 3, 1860
Letter from Samuel B. Reed to Jennie Reed, October 3, 1860
In this letter from October 3, 1860, Samuel Reed writes to his wife informing her that he has returned from his trip into the South. He tells her the engineer who promised him and John R. Boyle work was mistaken about the time it would be available and they do not know yet whether they will get it. He describes the wealth present in Vicksburg, Mississippi and states that he found it "very comfortable to have all the help wanted about a place and to feel that they are stationary and will not leave if any fault is found with them." He describes the slaves as "contented and happy," noting that they are better dressed than the laboring classes of the North. He also notes that Stephen A. Douglas is to speak in Chicago "and there will be a gathering of the people that will make the black Republicans quil in their shoes."
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October 16, 1864 | Letter
Letter from station/road masters to Adna Anderson, October 16, 1864
Labor bosses ask Adna Anderson to pressure the Quarter Master to approve the sale of winter clothing to contrabands.
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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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April 4, 1892 | Journal
Our Civil Rights
As African American civil rights are threatened with increasing segregation, a writer for a noted African American publication analyzes the situation.
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April 21, 1877 | Newspaper
OUTRAGE IN ALABAMA
The ejection of a party of Alabama African American men and women from a first class car on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad is recounted in this letter from William Jenkins of Tuskeegee, Alabama.
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June 12, 1869 | Illustration
Pacific Railroad Complete
This image from the June 12, 1869 issue of Harper's Weekly presents a satirical look at race and the completion of the Union Pacific railroad.
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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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December 18, 1898 | Newspaper
Race Problem on Railroads
North Carolina plans for Jim Crow cars draw attention.
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1873 | Legal decision
Railroad Company v. Brown, 84 U.S. 17 Wall. 445 445 (1873)
In 1868, Catherine Brown, an African American woman, was ejected from the "ladies car" on the Washington, Alexandria, and Georgetown Railroad Company when traveling from Alexandria, Virginia, to the District of Columbia. Brown sued the rail company and the case was appealed to the United States Supreme Court - the first case addressing race and public transportation to appear before the Court. Although the legal status of the railroad under Congressional rulings that had applied to earlier iterations of the company became a basis for appeal, the rights of African Americans became the most notable outcome of the Supreme Court's decision for Brown in 1873.
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April 2, 1841 | Newspaper
Railroad Corporations
The maltreatment of African Americans by New England rail companies acting as "epidermis-aristocrats" draws an abolitionist's wrath as a Southerner weighs in on the merits of Southern rail travel.
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March 19, 1841 | Newspaper
Rebuke of the Eastern Railroad Company, for their Treatment of Colored Passengers
Northern railways continued to discriminate against African American passengers and are rebuked in the Massachusetts House of Representatives.
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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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December 24, 1887 | Newspaper
Rev. Mr. Heard's Railroad Case
The case of Rev. William Heard versus the Georgia Railroad Company is heard before the Interstate Commerce Commission.
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April 5, 1893 | Newspaper
Rights of Negroes
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.
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December 31, 1869 | Legal decision
Seth E. Beedy Deposition
Catharine Brown's attorneys deposed two white men who were on the train with Brown and witnessed her expulsion from the cars in Alexandria. Both lived in Maine and were deposed in December 1869. Seth Beedy was traveling with Benjamin Hinds, who knew and recognized "Kate" Brown. Beedy testified, "she was ejected by violence and that alone."
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May 1, 1863 | 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.
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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.
