| Contents |
Preface: Unheralded labors -- Good old New York stock -- The wizard of Whipple City -- Slavery in the Empire City -- Bold men of color -- Sisters in struggle -- Zack comes to town -- City of omnibuses -- Late for church -- The trial -- The Legal Rights Association -- The great school wars -- The Civil War comes to New York -- Nell's window -- To exercise their senses -- Shadows of tall buildings. |
| Abstract |
"In 1854, traveling was full of danger. Omnibus accidents were commonplace. Pedestrians were regularly attacked by the Five Points' gangs. Rival police forces watched and argued over who should help. Pickpockets, drunks and kidnappers were all part of the daily street scene in old New York. Yet somehow, they endured and transformed a trading post into the Empire City. None of this was on Elizabeth Jennings's mind as she climbed the platform onto the Chatham Street horsecar. But her destination and that of the country took a sudden turn when the conductor told her to wait for the next car because it had "her people" in it. When she refused to step off the bus, she was assaulted by the conductor who was aided by a NY police officer. On February 22, 1855, Elizabeth Jennings v. Third Avenue Rail Road case was settled. Seeking $500 in damages, the jury stunned the courtroom with a $250 verdict in Lizzie's favor. Future US president Chester A. Arthur was Jennings' attorney and their lives would be forever onward intertwined. This is the story of what happened that day. It's also the story of Jennings' and Arthur's families, the struggle for equality, and race relations. It's the history of America at its most despicable and most exhilarating. Yet few historians know of Elizabeth Jennings or the impact she had on desegregating public transit. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references (pages 223-234) and index. |
| Issued in other form | Online version: Mikorenda, Jerry. America's first freedom rider. Guilford, Connecticut : Lyons Press, [2020] 9781493041350 |
| Genre/form | Biographies. |
| Genre/form | History. |
| Genre/form | Biographies. |
| ISBN | 9781493041343 (hardcover) |
| ISBN | 1493041347 (hardcover) |
| ISBN | (ePub ebook) |
