Philadelphia Street Cars

Philadelphia was one of the worst cities to be a different race in the Northeast during the Reconstruction Era. One of the major issues there (or, alternatively, the one that gathered many protests) was the Philadelphia street cars being segregated. Because of the climate, the opinion columns pictured were actually a bit more liberal than would’ve been acceptable at the time, and the second one wouldn’t likely be published in a neutral newspaper.

The political cartoon may be a bit unclear. The real message is that the street car in itself does not symbolize equal rights, but getting into it does. A door is drawn on the street car, and is labeled equal rights (the picture is low quality and I apologize). This is supposed to be a symbol more than anything else; getting onto the street car wouldn’t automatically create equal rights for every citizen of the United States. However, it would be (and was) a victory and a statement. If the street cars could be desegregated, then other things could get done, too.

Also, on the opinions, we still see the racist one today. It may take different forms, the homophobe, for example, but what they say is always the same. “We gave them enough, they don’t need more.” This is dangerous, the way they’re playing it. They act like they’re trying to preserve peace.

Something I inserted in there was the comment about ‘our lord’ on the other one. This was just so it would feel more 1800s-ish while the newspaper looked ridiculously modern.

Not to say that the segregated street cars weren’t an issue, because they were, and people were suffering because of it.

Many people famous for their efforts during Reconstruction were involved i this mess, including William Still.