The character Coalhouse Walker Jr. is inspired by Michael Kohlhaas, a figure from an 1808 novella by German author Heinrich von Kleist. "Michael Kohlhaas" is featured in Tales, a collection of von Kleist's novellas, and also appears in Twelve German Novellas, edited and translated by Harry Steinhauer, published by the University of California Press in 1977.

All of Doctorow's novels incorporate Ragtime's method of blending historical events with fictional narratives to varying extents. Notably, The Book of Daniel, released in 1971, shares similarities with Ragtime by providing a unique perspective on dissident politics in America. It is loosely inspired by the 1951 execution of alleged spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Additionally, The Waterworks, published in 1994, convincingly portrays New York society in the 1870s.

John Dos Passos's novels from the 1920s and 1930s resemble Ragtime in their presentation of real-life figures and news events alongside fictional elements. Dos Passos's most ambitious and experimental work is his trilogy of novels, The Forty-second Parallel, 1919, and The Big Money, collectively known as The U.S.A. Trilogy.

The labor movement depicted in Doctorow's book is a central theme in Upton Sinclair's 1906 classic The Jungle. Although a novel, Sinclair approached the details with the rigor of a journalist, offering a vivid depiction of life in 1906. While most readers remember the book for its graphic portrayal of the unsanitary conditions in Chicago's meatpacking industry, its true focus is on the fight for workers' rights and the oppressive systems that kept them powerless.

Doctorow's opinions are more explicitly conveyed in his essays than in his fiction. Readers interested in Ragtime might find his acclaimed collection Jack London, Ernest Hemingway and the Constitution: Selected Essays, 1977-1992 particularly engaging. In addition to the topics mentioned in the title, the essays also cover subjects like writing in general, Henry David Thoreau, and Ronald Reagan.