'A Wholesome Verdict:' Using Historical Empathy Strategies to Analyze 'Elizabeth Jennings v. the Third Avenue Railway Company'

Item request has been placed! ×
Item request cannot be made. ×
loading   Processing Request
Read More Add to Saved list
  • Additional Information
    • Availability:
      National Council for the Social Studies. 8555 Sixteenth Street #500, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Tel: 800-683-0812; Tel: 301-588-1800; Fax: 301-588-2049; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://www.socialstudies.org
    • Peer Reviewed:
      Y
    • Source:
      10
    • Subject Terms:
      Empathy; Court Litigation; United States History; African Americans; Transportation; Churches; Financial Support; Presidents; Lawyers; Corporations; Racial Segregation; Social Change; History Instruction; Teaching Methods; Attendance; Learning Activities; Primary Sources
    • Subject Terms:
      New York (New York)
    • ISSN:
      0037-7724
    • Abstract:
      On a hot July day in 1854, 24-year-old schoolteacher Elizabeth Jennings, accompanied by a friend, attempted to board a horse-drawn trolley to attend Sunday church services in Lower Manhattan. The Irish conductor refused, telling Jennings, who was African American, to await a horsecar for "her people." When Jennings resisted, the conductor and a nearby police officer physically ejected her. Elizabeth Jennings reported her ordeal to her father, prominent entrepreneur and abolitionist Thomas L. Jennings, and to her church congregation. Thomas Jennings appealed to the Legal Rights Association, of which he was a co-founder, to raise funds for representation. Future U.S. President Chester A. Arthur, of the firm Culver, Parker, and Arthur, signed on as Elizabeth Jennings' attorney against the Third Avenue Railway Company. In the New York Supreme Court, in February 1855, Arthur argued that the Third Avenue Railway Company violated Elizabeth Jennings' "common carrier rights," which stipulated that transportation conveyances were "bound to carry all persons if sober, well-behaved, and free from disease, [and] had the same rights as others; and could neither be excluded." The judge instructed the jury that the company was liable "for the acts of their agents," and the jury awarded Jennings a $250 settlement (half of what she sued for). As a result, the Third Avenue Railway Company, as well as other trolley companies in New York City, reversed their segregation ordinances. Elizabeth Jennings' story is a powerful example of activism for racial equality in antebellum America, yet there was barely a "thumbnail sketch" about her in history books, noted African American historian John H. Hewitt. These lesser-known historical narratives can serve as powerful tools for engaging students in historical empathy. This article presents activities, which can be adapted for varying grade levels, and are designed to be carried out over several class periods. They are modeled on the Inquiry Design Model Blueprint, with questions, tasks, and source analysis focused on "Elizabeth Jennings v. Third Avenue Railway Company."
    • Abstract:
      ERIC
    • Publication Date:
      2022
    • Accession Number:
      EJ1328769