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May 29, 1869 | Illustration
Work on the Last Mile of the Pacific Railroad—Mingling of European with Asiatic Laborers
This image from the May 29, 1869 issue of Harper's Weekly depicts laborers of both European and Asian descent working on the final mile of the Pacific Railroad.
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September 3, 1891 | Newspaper
Untitled [Through the action of the separate coach law]
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.
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September 29, 1883 | Newspaper
Untitled [The railroads of Texas have been harassed]
A brief editorial statement about the conditions on Texas railroads and the lack of equal accomodations for African Americans and the need for a continued struggle against "American intolerance."
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May 20, 1875 | Newspaper
Untitled [Grand Jury of the United States District Court Harrisonburg, Va., has found a bill of indictment]
The United States District Court at Harrisionburg, Virginia, hands down an indictment against the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad for the ejection of Annie Smith.
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1852 | Book
Uncle Tom's Cabin
An excerpt from Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin.
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November 6, 1841 | Newspaper
To The Public
The plight of African Americans and their abolitionist supporters on New England railroads is addressed in depth in this passionate editorial.
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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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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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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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1890 | Law
The Louisiana Railway Accommodations Act
The Louisiana Railway Accommodations Act mandates "equal but separate" rail travel in the state.
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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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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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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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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 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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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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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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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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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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December 18, 1898 | Newspaper
Race Problem on Railroads
North Carolina plans for Jim Crow cars draw attention.
