{"id":4241,"date":"2016-07-04T04:27:29","date_gmt":"2016-07-04T04:27:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.archivingwheeling.org\/blog\/?p=4241"},"modified":"2018-09-16T14:21:30","modified_gmt":"2018-09-16T14:21:30","slug":"freedomtrain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.archivingwheeling.org\/blog\/freedomtrain","title":{"rendered":"All Aboard the Freedom Train"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

The Freedom Train Brings the Spirit of 1776 to Wheeling<\/h2>\n
\n
\u201cHere comes the Freedom Train<\/em>
\nYou better hurry down<\/em>
\nJust like a Paul Revere<\/em>
\nIt\u2019s comin\u2019 into your hometown<\/em>
\nInside the freedom train<\/em>
\nYou\u2019ll find a precious freight<\/em>
\nThose words of liberty<\/em>
\nThe documents that made us great\u2026\u201d
\n\u2013<\/em>from The Freedom Train<\/a> <\/em>(1948) by Irving Berlin<\/p>\n
$\"Freedom$ <\/a>
Freedom Train postcard, OCPL Archives.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/blockquote>\n
On September 14, 1948, a glossy white, seven-car train with bold, red, white and blue striping and a golden eagle on\u00a0its Alco PA-1 diesel-electric locomotive, pulled into Wheeling\u2019s Pennsylvania Railroad depot at the Wharf, just above what is now Heritage Port, for a twelve hour visit. On board the were \u201c 127 of the nation\u2019s most priceless historical documents<\/a>,\u201d including Thomas Jefferson\u2019s rough draft of the Declaration of Independence with corrections, Washington\u2019s copy of the original printed draft of the Constitution, a manuscript copy of the Gettysburg Address held by Abraham Lincoln, and Francis Scott Key\u2019s handwritten copy of The Star Spangled Banner, among many others.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A Rolling National Archives<\/h2>\n
$\"Wheeling$ <\/a>
Wheeling Intelligencer, September 14, 1948<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Billed as a \u201crolling museum,\u201d the \u201cUnited States Freedom Train\u201d had departed Philadelphia a year earlier. Wheeling had the honor of representing West Virginia as the 48^{th<\/sup> state on its 31,000 mile, cross-country trek to visit all 48 contiguous states (the first train to do so). Mayor Carl G. Bachmann officially welcomed the Freedom Train when it arrived at 9 a.m., and the national director of the Freedom Train\u2019s journey discussed the \u201cprecious and irreplaceable displays\u201d during a special noon broadcast on WWVA Radio.<\/p>\n}
\u201cFrom 10 a.m. until 10 p.m.,\u201d The Wheeling Intelligencer<\/em> predicted, \u201ca constant stream of Valley visitors will tour the rail unit, to view the hallowed documents that set the foundation for the freedoms and rights upon which the United States was built, and to join with millions of others throughout the nation in rededicating themselves to the principles for which our forefathers fought and died.\u201d<\/p>\n
$\"Wheeling$ <\/a>
Wheeling Intelligencer, September 15, 1948.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
During that mandatory \u201cRededication Week,\u201d in preparation for the Freedom Train\u2019s arrival, Richman Brothers Men\u2019s Clothing featured, in its store window facing Market Street, a display titled, \u201cStory-Telling Maps of West Virginia.\u201d The display included what was billed as the \u201cfirst map to bear the name Wheeling, which is spelled \u2018Whealing.\u2019\u201d Thirty-five other Wheeling businesses offered similar exhibits during Rededication Week, during which all \u201cmerchants, business houses, and householders in the Ohio Valley,\u201d were urged to display the American flag.<\/p>\n
The day prior to the Freedom Train\u2019s arrival was deemed \u201cPursuit of Happiness Day,\u201d and featured free dances with musical performances by Local 142, American Federation of Musicians, at both Wheeling Parks\u2019 White Palace and Oglebay Park\u2019s Pine Room. On the morning of the train\u2019s arrival, all local schools, public and privates held assemblies to familiarize the students with the documents on-board. Classes were then dismissed early to allow the students to tour the train. Many local businesses, as well as city and county offices, closed early to enable their employees to tour the train.<\/p>\n
$\"Wheeling$ <\/a>
Wheeling Intelligencer, September 15, 1948<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
In all more than 11,000 people waited in the blazing September sun to tour the Freedom Train during its twelve hour Wheeling stop. The line, said to be \u201cfour and five people thick,\u201d extended from the Pennsylvania Depot at 12^{th<\/sup> all the way down Water Street to the 14^{th<\/sup> Street intersection. Members of the Pennsylvania Railroad \u201cpolice force\u201d stood guard alongside Wheeling policemen, firemen, local national guard, and a contingent of 29 U.S. Marines, sharply clad in dress blues, who kept the onlookers moving at a brisk pace. The bridges and highways leading into town were jammed with autos bringing more people from neighboring communities to see the unusual attraction.<\/p>\n}}
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t $\"Freedom$ <\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tFreedom Train at Pennsy Depot, Wheeling Wharf. WAGS Collection, OCPL Archives.\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t $\"Freedom$ <\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tFreedom Train at Pennsy Depot, Wheeling Wharf. WAGS Collection, OCPL Archives.\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t $\"Freedom$ <\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tFreedom Train at Pennsy Depot, Wheeling Wharf. WAGS Collection, OCPL Archives.\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n
\n
Selling America to Americans<\/h2>\n
The idea for the Freedom Train arose in the early years of the Cold War, when U.S. Attorney General Thomas Clark worried that Americans had lost their WWII-patriotic edge. He recruited Paramount Pictures and the Ad Council to create a new Hollywood-style patriotic propaganda campaign to \u201csell America to Americans.\u201d The group created the \u201cAmerican Heritage Foundation\u201d (not to be confused with the similarly named right wing think-tank formed in 1973) and the Freedom Train was the Foundation\u2019s brainchild. Its mission was to bring the documents of freedom (on loan from the National Archives) to all Americans, regardless of race, gender or creed. Yet the document selection, as well as the on-board interpretation struck many as having a decidedly conservative flavor.<\/p>\n
This slideshow requires JavaScript.<\/p>
<\/div>\n
But the Wheeling Intelligencer<\/em> bought in: \u201cBig and little they came,\u201d the newspaper gushed, \u201cyoung and old, black and white and yellow, tiny school tots and aged, feeble men and women, farmers, miners, mechanics, white collar workers, members of religious orders, doctors, lawyers, truck drivers and housewives, flocking from all sections of the Ohio Valley to gaze briefly on the aged, yellowed papers that established, guaranteed and still preserve the freedoms of the American people\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
This slideshow requires JavaScript.<\/p>
<\/div>\n
\n
\u201cI Hope There Ain\u2019t No Jim Crow on the Freedom Train\u201d<\/h2>\n
\n
\u201cYou can shout your anger from a steeple<\/em>
\nYou can shoot the system full of holes<\/em>
\nYou can always question \u2018We the People\u2019<\/em>
\nYou can get your answer at the polls\u201d
\n<\/em>-from The Freedom Train<\/a><\/em> (1948) by Irving Berlin<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
$\"Freedom$ <\/a>
Freedom Train Sheet Music by Irving Berlin. OCPL Archives.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Despite its stated mission, questions soon arose as to whether \u201cAll Aboard\u201d would truly apply to the Freedom Train. Even though President Truman announced a desegregation policy for the train, only one document having to do with rights for African Americans \u2013 a manuscript copy of the Emancipation Proclamation \u2013 was selected to make the journey. The irony of a national \u201cFreedom Train\u201d making stops in southern states (including West Virginia) where Jim Crow segregation laws still kept blacks and whites \u201cseparate but equal,\u201d did not escape the notice of poet Langston Hughes<\/a>, who wrote a highly critical poem titled \u201cFreedom Train\u201d<\/a> that expressed the concerns of black Americans across the nation. A dramatic reading of the poem was later recorded by performer and activist\u00a0 Paul Robeson<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Hughes wrote (in part):<\/p>\n
\u201cDown South in Dixie the only trains I see\u2019s
\nGot a Jim-Crow car set aside for me.
\nI hope there ain\u2019t no Jim Crow on the Freedom Train,
\nNo back door entrance to the Freedom Train,
\nNo signs FOR COLORED on the Freedom Train,
\nNo WHITE FOLKS ONLY on the Freedom Train.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m gonna check up on this
\nFreedom Train.\u201d<\/p>\n
To read the full text of the poem, click here<\/a>. To listen to Paul Robeson\u2019s poignant reading, visit this site<\/a>.<\/p>\n
In its glowing report on the train\u2019s visit, the Wheeling Intelligencer<\/em> attempted to downplay the issue locally, saying, \u201cNegroes stood in reverent silence before Lincoln\u2019s manuscript copy of the Emancipation Proclamation\u2026that freed them from the toils of slavery. Foreign born American citizens and sons and daughters of foreign born citizens paused before the manuscript copy of the Declaration of Independence\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Although it did not occur in Wheeling, southern cities like Memphis and Birmingham threatened to segregate black and white visitors when the train stopped. Facing protests, the American Heritage Foundation canceled the scheduled Freedom Train stops for those cities.<\/p>\n
\n
Documenting the Document Train<\/h2>\n
$\"Freedom$
Freedom Train, by JJ Young. WVNCC Alumni Association.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Amid the throng along the Wheeling Wharf that late summer day was a young man named John J. \u201cJ.J.\u201d Young.<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t $\"The$ <\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tThe handwritten caption for JJ Young’s Freedom Train photo. WVNCC Alumni Association Collection.\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t $\"\"$ <\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tThe authors will be at Lunch With Books on July 12 at noon.\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t $\"\"$ <\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tJJ Young, camera in hand, at about the age he was when the Freedom Train came to his hometown.\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n
Wheeling\u2019s prolific and legendary train photographer, his trusty camera in hand, documented the unique visit for posterity. In July 2016, the Ohio County Public Library featured an\u00a0exhibit on the Freedom Train\u2019s Wheeling visit.<\/p>\n
This slideshow requires JavaScript.<\/p>
<\/div>\n
$\"Freedom$ <\/a>
Freedom Train postcard, OCPL Archives.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
Epilogue: The Spirit of 1976<\/h2>\n
More of a \u201cRolling Smithsonian\u201d than a \u201cRolling Archive\u201d like its predecessor, a second Freedom Train (actually comprised of several different steam and diesel engines) traversed the country in celebration of the Bicentennial in 1975-1976. Carrying 500 artifacts, including everything from a moon rock to Martin Luther King Jr.\u2019s pulpit and Dorothy\u2019s dress from the Wizard of Oz, the \u201cAmerican Freedom Train\u201d visited Huntington and Charleston, but not Wheeling.<\/p>\n
\n
Making a Freedom Train<\/h2>\n
A scale model Alco PA-1 diesel locomotive is transformed into the Freedom Train locomotive. Note: the eagle heralds were removed early on when they reminded people of Nazi symbols. They were reinstalled before the train reached Wheeling.<\/p>\n
This slideshow requires JavaScript.<\/p>
<\/div>\n
In addition to the locomotive, the Freedom Train was comprised of three sleeper cars provided by the Pullman Company and three observation cars provided by the Pennsylvania Railroad. Pullman also supplied the conductor as well as three porters to cater to the Marines and other staff on board. The observation cars carried the archival treasures, which the Marines both guarded and interpreted for the 3.5 million national visitors. According to reports, the Marines set a brisk pace, with each visitor allowed\u00a0less than three seconds eyeball-time per document.<\/p>\n
$\"Freedom$ <\/a>
Freedom Train Marine detachment under review. OCPL Archives.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Freedom Train Brings the Spirit of 1776 to Wheeling \u201cHere comes the Freedom Train You better hurry down Just like a Paul Revere It\u2019s comin\u2019 into your hometown Inside the freedom train You\u2019ll find a precious freight Those words<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":4308,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[91,660,664,668,667,666,672,665,657,678,96,408,661,673,677,663,276,662,671,658,13,38,680,675,114,674,681,508,676,670,385,669,659,288,30,679],"coauthors":[313],"class_list":["post-4241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-african-american-history","tag-american-freedom-train","tag-american-heritage-foundation","tag-cold-war","tag-constitution","tag-declaration-of-independence","tag-diesel-trains","tag-emancipation-proclamation","tag-freedom-train","tag-gettysburg-address","tag-jim-crow","tag-jj-young","tag-langston-hughes","tag-locomotives","tag-mayor-carl-bachmann","tag-national-archives","tag-oglebay-park","tag-paul-robeson","tag-pennsylvania-depot","tag-pennsylvania-railroad","tag-photographs","tag-photography","tag-pine-room","tag-pursuit-of-happiness-day","tag-railroads","tag-rededication-week","tag-richman-brothers","tag-segregation","tag-spirit-of-1776","tag-star-spangled-banner","tag-trains","tag-us-marines","tag-wharf","tag-wheeling-park","tag-wheeling-photographers","tag-white-palace"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.archivingwheeling.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/wharf-image.jpg?fit=3000%2C1588&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5pkc7-16p","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.archivingwheeling.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.archivingwheeling.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.archivingwheeling.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.archivingwheeling.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.archivingwheeling.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4241"}],"version-history":[{"count":44,"href":"https:\/\/www.archivingwheeling.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4241\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7482,"href":"https:\/\/www.archivingwheeling.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4241\/revisions\/7482"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.archivingwheeling.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.archivingwheeling.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.archivingwheeling.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.archivingwheeling.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4241"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.archivingwheeling.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=4241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}