Railroads and American Law

Railroads and American Law PDF Author: James W. Ely, Jr.
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
ISBN: 0700611444
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 376

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Book Description
No enterprise is so seductive as a railroad for the influence it exerts, the power it gives, and the hope of gain it offers.—Poor's Manual of Railroads (1900) At its peak, the railroad was the Internet of its day in its transformative impact on American life and law. A harbinger and promoter of economic empire, it was also the icon of a technological revolution that accelerated national expansion and in the process transformed our legal system. James W. Ely Jr., in the first comprehensive legal history of the rail industry, shows that the two institutions-the railroad and American law-had a profound influence on each other. Ely chronicles how "America's first big business" impelled the creation of a vast array of new laws in a country where long-distance internal transport had previously been limited to canals and turnpikes. Railroads, the first major industry to experience extensive regulation, brought about significant legal innovations governing interstate commerce, eminent domain, private property, labor relations, and much more. Much of this development was originally designed to serve the interests of the railroads themselves but gradually came to contest and control the industry's power and exploitative tendencies. As Ely reveals, despite its great promise and potential as an engine of prosperity and uniter of far-flung regions, the railroad was not universally admired. Railroads uprooted people, threatened local autonomy, and posed dangers to employees and the public alike-situations with unprecedented legal ramifications. Ely explores the complex and sometimes contradictory ways in which those ramifications played out, as railroads crossed state lines and knitted together a diverse nation with thousands of miles of iron rail. Epic in its scope, Railroads and American Law makes a complex subject accessible to a wide range of readers, from legal historians to railroad buffs, and shows the many ways in which a powerful industry brought change and innovation to America.

Railroads and American Law

Railroads and American Law PDF Author: James W. Ely, Jr.
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
ISBN: 0700611444
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 376

Get Book Here

Book Description
No enterprise is so seductive as a railroad for the influence it exerts, the power it gives, and the hope of gain it offers.—Poor's Manual of Railroads (1900) At its peak, the railroad was the Internet of its day in its transformative impact on American life and law. A harbinger and promoter of economic empire, it was also the icon of a technological revolution that accelerated national expansion and in the process transformed our legal system. James W. Ely Jr., in the first comprehensive legal history of the rail industry, shows that the two institutions-the railroad and American law-had a profound influence on each other. Ely chronicles how "America's first big business" impelled the creation of a vast array of new laws in a country where long-distance internal transport had previously been limited to canals and turnpikes. Railroads, the first major industry to experience extensive regulation, brought about significant legal innovations governing interstate commerce, eminent domain, private property, labor relations, and much more. Much of this development was originally designed to serve the interests of the railroads themselves but gradually came to contest and control the industry's power and exploitative tendencies. As Ely reveals, despite its great promise and potential as an engine of prosperity and uniter of far-flung regions, the railroad was not universally admired. Railroads uprooted people, threatened local autonomy, and posed dangers to employees and the public alike-situations with unprecedented legal ramifications. Ely explores the complex and sometimes contradictory ways in which those ramifications played out, as railroads crossed state lines and knitted together a diverse nation with thousands of miles of iron rail. Epic in its scope, Railroads and American Law makes a complex subject accessible to a wide range of readers, from legal historians to railroad buffs, and shows the many ways in which a powerful industry brought change and innovation to America.

North American Railroads

North American Railroads PDF Author: Brian Solomon
Publisher: Voyageur Press (MN)
ISBN: 0760347360
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 323

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Book Description
This richly illustrated encyclopedia of classic and contemporary railroads features histories of 101 U.S. and Canadian railroads past and present. It is the go-to resource for railfans of all stripes.

Recasting American Liberty

Recasting American Liberty PDF Author: Barbara Young Welke
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521649667
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 436

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Book Description
Through courtroom dramas from 1865 to 1920 - of men forced to jump from moving cars when trainmen refused to stop, of women emotionally wrecked from the trauma of nearly missing a platform or street, and women barred from first class ladies' cars because of the color of their skin - Barbara Welke offers a dramatic reconsideration of the critical role railroads, and streetcars, played in transforming the conditions of individual liberty at the dawn of the twentieth century. The three-part narrative, focusing on the law of accidental injury, nervous shock, and racial segregation in public transit, captures Americans' journey from a cultural and legal ethos celebrating manly independence and autonomy to one that recognized and sought to protect the individual against the dangers of modern life. Gender and race become central to the transformation charted here, as much as the forces of corporate power, modern technology and urban space.

Railroads and the Granger Laws

Railroads and the Granger Laws PDF Author: George Hall Miller
Publisher: Madison : University of Wisconsin Press
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 316

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Book Description


The Interstate Commerce Act

The Interstate Commerce Act PDF Author: United States
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Interstate commerce
Languages : en
Pages : 294

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Book Description


Early American Railroads

Early American Railroads PDF Author: Franz Anton Ritter von Gerstner
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 9780804724234
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 908

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Book Description
The first English translation of the most comprehensive and detailed work on the development, construction, finance, and operation of early American railroads and canals.

Railroads and American Economic Growth

Railroads and American Economic Growth PDF Author: Robert William Fogel
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Railroads
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description


Government Promotion of American Canals and Railroads, 1800-1890

Government Promotion of American Canals and Railroads, 1800-1890 PDF Author: Carter Goodrich
Publisher: Praeger
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description


Long Steel Rail

Long Steel Rail PDF Author: Norm Cohen
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
ISBN: 9780252068812
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 774

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Book Description
Impeccable scholarship and lavish illustration mark this landmark study of American railroad folksong. Norm Cohen provides a sweeping discussion of the human aspects of railroad history, railroad folklore, and the evolution of the American folksong. The heart of the book is a detailed analysis of eighty-five songs, from "John Henry" and "The Wabash Cannonball" to "Hell-Bound Train" and "Casey Jones," with their music, sources, history, and variations, and discographies. A substantial new introduction updates this edition.

Passage to Union

Passage to Union PDF Author: Sarah H. Gordon
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781566632188
Category : Railroads
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Exploring the social, economic, and legal impact of the growth of the railroads, Ms. Gordon finds that their accomplishments in drawing together the vast reaches of the union were achieved at high cost. Smaller towns withered as people and money flowed to the larger cities, and the social and economic life of the nation was forever changed. This is an absorbing story of apparent triumph and real loss, drawn from a wide variety of sources.