H. B. Lindsley, Harriet Tubman, c. Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Ross; c 1820 – 10 March 1913 was an African-American Abolitionist, Humanitarian, and Union 1880, a worker on the Underground Railroad, she made 19 trips back to the South and helped free approximately 300 people

The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th century Black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists who were sympathetic to their cause. In law enforcement and intelligence jargon of Intelligence agencies and Police forces a secured location suitable for hiding witnesses agents or other persons The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar African Americans or Black Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa Slavery in the United States began soon after English colonists first settled Virginia in 1607 and lasted until the passage of the Thirteenth The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The free states of the United States existed in opposition to the Slave states prior to the American Civil War. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Abolitionism was a political movement of the 18th and 19th century which sought to make Slavery illegal particularly in the United States and British West Indies ^[1] The term is also applied to the abolitionists who aided the fugitives. ^[2] Other routes led to Mexico or overseas. The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. ^[3] The Underground Railroad was at its height between 1810 and 1850. ^[4] One report estimates that up to 100,000 people escaped enslavement via the Underground Railroad. , but census figures only account for 6,000. The United States Census is a decennial Census mandated by the United States Constitution. ^[5]

Political background

Even at the height of the Underground Railroad, fewer than two thousand slaves from all slaveholding states were able to escape each year, a quantity much smaller than the natural annual increase of the enslaved population. Though the economic impact was small, the psychological impact upon slaveholders of a well-organized network to assist escaped slaves was immense. Under the original Fugitive Slave Law of 1793, the responsibility for catching runaway slaves fell to officials of the states whence the slaves came, and the Underground Railroad thrived. 1793 Fugitive Slave Act (Feb 12 1793 ch 7 1 Stat 302 was written in response to a conflict between Pennsylvania and Virginia.

With heavy political lobbying, the Compromise of 1850, passed by Congress after the Mexican-American War, stipulated a more stringent Fugitive Slave Law. The Compromise of 1850 was a series of bills aimed at resolving the territorial and slavery controversies arising from the Mexican-American War (1846&ndash1848 The Fugitive Slave Law or Fugitive Slave Act was passed by the United States Congress on September 18, 1850, as part of the Compromise of Ostensibly, the compromise redressed all regional complaints. However, it coerced officials of free states to assist slave catchers if there were runaway slaves in the area, and granted slave catchers national immunity when in free states to do their job. Additionally, free blacks of the North could easily be forced into slavery, whether they had been freed earlier or had never been slaves. Suspected slaves were unable to defend themselves in court, and it was difficult to prove a free status. In a de facto bribe^[6], judges were paid more ($10) for a decision that forced a suspected slave back into slavery than ($5) for a decision that the suspected slave was in fact free. Bribery, a form of pecuniary corruption is an act usually implying money or gift given that alters the behaviour of the recipient in ways not consistent with the duties of that person Thus, many Northerners who would have otherwise been able and content to ignore far-away regional slavery chafed under nationally-sanctioned slavery, leading to one of the primary grievances of the Union cause by the Civil War's outbreak. Causes of the war See also Origins of the American Civil War, Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War The coexistence of a slave-owning South

Structure

See also: Vigilance committee

The escape network of The Underground Railroad was not literally subterranean, but rather "underground" in the sense of underground resistance. A vigilance committee, in the 19th century United States, was a group of private citizens who organized themselves for self-protection The network was known as a "railroad" by way of the use of rail terminology in the code. The Underground Railroad consisted of meeting points, secret routes, transportation, and safe houses, and assistance provided by abolitionist sympathizers. In law enforcement and intelligence jargon of Intelligence agencies and Police forces a secured location suitable for hiding witnesses agents or other persons Individuals were often organized in small, independent groups, which helped to maintain secrecy since some knew of connecting "stations" along the route but few details of their immediate area. Escaped slaves would move along the route from one way station to the next, steadily making their way north. "Conductors" on the railroad came from various backgrounds and included free-born blacks, white abolitionists, former slaves (either escaped or manumitted), and Native Americans. Manumission is the act of freeing a slave, done at the will of the owner Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States Churches also often played a role, especially the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), Congregationalists, Wesleyans, and Reformed Presbyterians as well as certain sects of mainstream denominations such as branches of the Methodist church and American Baptists. A church building is a Building or Structure whose primary purpose is to facilitate the meeting of a church. Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently The Wesleyan Church is an Evangelical Christian Religious denomination in the United States Canada and Australia associated with the Holiness The Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA a Christian church, is a small Presbyterian denomination with churches throughout the Methodism is a movement within Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations Baptist is a term describing individuals belonging to a Baptist church or a Baptist denomination.

Route

Map of some Underground Railroad routes

Many people associated with the Underground Railroad only knew their part of the operation and not of the whole scheme. Though this may seem like an unreliable route for slaves to gain their freedom, hundreds of slaves obtained freedom to the North every year.

The resting spots where the runaways could sleep and eat were given the code names “stations” and “depots” which were held by “station masters”. There were also those known as “stockholders” who gave money or supplies for assistance. There were the “conductors” who ultimately moved the runaways from station to station. The “conductor” would sometimes act as if he or she were a slave and enter a plantation. Fundamentally a plantation is usually a large Farm or estate, especially in a tropical or semitropical country on which Cotton, Tobacco Once a part of a plantation the "conductor" would direct the fugitives to the North. A fugitive is a person who is fleeing from Custody, whether it be from private Slavery, a government Arrest, government or non-government questioning During the night the slaves would move, traveling on about 10–20 miles (15–30 km) per night. They would stop at the so-called “stations” or "depots" during the day and rest. While resting at one station, a message was sent to the next station to let the station master know the runaways were on their way. Sometimes boats or trains would be used for transportation. Money was donated by many people to help buy tickets and even clothing for the fugitives so they would remain unnoticeable. Soon after the railroad had freed 300 slaves, some of the freed slaves made a store for the railroad.

Traveling conditions

Although the fugitives sometimes traveled on real railways, the primary means of transportation were on foot or by wagon.

In addition, routes were often purposely indirect in order to throw off pursuers. Most escapes were by individuals or small groups; occasionally, such as with the Pearl Rescue, there were mass escapes. The majority of the escapees are believed to have been male field workers younger than 40 years old. The journey was often seen as too arduous and treacherous for women or children to complete. Many fugitive bondsmen, however, who escaped via the Railroad and established livelihoods as free men, later purchased their wives, children, and other family members out of slavery. Because of this, the number of former slaves who owed their freedom at least in part to the courage and determination of those who operated the Underground Railroad was greater than the many thousands who actually traveled its secret routes.

Due to the risk of discovery, information about routes and safe havens was passed along by word of mouth. Southern newspapers of the day were often filled with pages of notices soliciting information about escaped slaves and offering sizable rewards for their capture and return. Federal marshals and professional bounty hunters known as slave catchers pursued fugitives as far as the Canadian border. A bounty hunter captures Fugitives for a monetary reward ( bounty) Fugitive slave catchers were people who returned escaped slaves to their owners in the United States in the mid-19th century The Canada – United States border is the international Border between Canada and the United States.

The risk of capture was not limited solely to actual fugitives. Because strong, healthy blacks in their prime working and reproductive years were highly valuable commodities, it was not unusual for free blacks — both freedmen (former slaves) and those who had lived their entire lives in freedom — to be kidnapped and sold into slavery. A freedman is a former slave who has been manumitted or emancipated. "Certificates of freedom" — signed, notarized statements attesting to the free status of individual blacks — could easily be destroyed and thus afforded their owners little protection. Moreover, under the terms of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, when suspected fugitives were seized and brought to a special magistrate known as a commissioner, they had no right to a jury trial and could not testify in their own behalf; the marshal or private slave-catcher only needed to swear an oath to acquire a writ of replevin, for the return of property. The Fugitive Slave Law or Fugitive Slave Act was passed by the United States Congress on September 18, 1850, as part of the Compromise of A magistrate is a judicial officer In Common law systems a magistrate usually has limited authority to administer and enforce the Law. In Law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial Jurisdiction. Replevin is an Anglo - French Law term It is the noun form of the verb "replevy" (from Old French "replevir" derived from "plevir"

Nevertheless, Congress believed the fugitive slave laws were necessary because of the lack of cooperation by the police, courts, and public outside of the Deep South. The United States Congress is the bicameral Legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses States such as Michigan passed laws interfering with the federal bounty system, which politicians from the South felt was grossly inadequate, and this became a key motivation for secession. Michigan ( is a Midwestern state of the United States of America. Secession (derived from the Latin term secessio is the act of withdrawing from an organization union or especially a political entity In some parts of the North slave-catchers needed police protection to carry out their federal authority. Even in states that resisted cooperation with slavery laws, though, blacks were often unwelcome; Indiana passed a constitutional amendment that barred blacks from settling in that state.

Terminology

Members of The Underground Railroad often used specific jargon, based on the metaphor of the railway. "Railroad" and "Railway" both redirect here For other uses see Railroad (disambiguation. For example:

• People who helped slaves find the railroad were "agents" (or "shepherds")
• Guides were known as "conductors"
• Hiding places were "stations"
• Abolitionists would fix the "tracks"
• "Stationmasters" hid slaves in their homes
• Escaped slaves were referred to as "passengers" or "cargo"
• Slaves would obtain a "ticket"
• Just as in common gospel lore, the "wheels would keep on turning"
• Financial benefactors of the Railroad were known as "stockholders".

As well, the Big Dipper asterism, whose "bowl" points to the north star, was known as the drinkin' gourd, and immortalized in a contemporary code tune. This article is about the asterism; for other uses see Big Dipper (disambiguation. In Astronomy, an asterism is a pattern of Stars seen in Earth's sky which is not an official Constellation. The Drinkin' Gourd is another name for the Big Dipper asterism. The Railroad itself was often known as the "freedom train" or "Gospel train", which headed towards "Heaven" or "the Promised Land"—Canada.

William Still, often called "The Father of the Underground Railroad", helped hundreds of slaves to escape (as many as 60 a month), sometimes hiding them in his Philadelphia home. Philadelphia (ˌfɪləˈdɛlfiə He kept careful records, including short biographies of the people, that contained frequent railway metaphors. He maintained correspondence with many of them, often acting as a middleman in communications between escaped slaves and those left behind. He then published these accounts in the book The Underground Railroad in 1872.

According to Still, messages were often encoded so that messages could only be understood by those active in the railroad. For example, the following message, "I have sent via at two o'clock four large and two small hams", indicated that four adults and two children were sent by train from Harrisburg to Philadelphia. Harrisburg is the Capital of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in the United States of America However, the additional word via indicated that the "passengers" were not sent on the usual train, but rather via Reading, Pennsylvania. Reading (ˈrɛdɪŋ is the county seat of Berks County Pennsylvania and the center of the Greater Reading Area. In this case, authorities were tricked into going to the regular train station in an attempt to intercept the runaways, while Still was able to meet them at the correct station and guide them to safety, where they eventually escaped to Canada.

Folklore

Main article: Quilts of the Underground Railroad

Since the 1980s, claims have arisen that quilt designs were used to signal and direct slaves to escape routes and assistance. Since the late 1980s a theory has been advanced that Slaves utilized Quilt blocks to alert other slaves about escape plans during the time of the Underground Railroad A quilt is a type of Bedding — a bed covering composed of a quilt top a layer of batting, and a layer of fabric for backing generally combined using the technique According to advocates of the quilt theory, there were ten quilt patterns that were used to direct slaves to take particular actions. The quilts were placed one at time on a fence as a means of noverbal commnication to alert escaping slaves. The code had a dual meaning: first to signal slaves to prepare to escape and second to give clues and indicate directions on the journey. ^[7]

The quilt design theory is disputed. The first published work documenting an oral history source was in 1999 and the first publishing is believed to be a 1980 children's book,^[8] so it is difficult to evaluate the veracity of these claims, which are not accepted by quilt historians. Oral history can be defined as the recording preservation and interpretation of historical information, based on the personal experiences and opinions of the speaker Children's literature is an age category of literature written for published for or marketed to Children roughly through age 12 There is no contemporary evidence of any sort of quilt code, and quilt historians such as Pat Cummings and Barbara Brackman have raised serious questions about the idea. In addition, Underground Railroad historian Giles Wright has published a pamphlet debunking the quilt code.

Main article: Songs of the underground railroad

Many accounts also mention spirituals and other songs that contained coded information intended to help navigate the railroad. Songs of the Underground Railroad is an Urban legend dating from the later twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first Songs such as "Steal Away" and other field songs were often passed down purely orally, and others, like "Follow the Drinking Gourd," were published after the days of the Railroad. The Drinkin' Gourd is another name for the Big Dipper asterism. ^[8] Tracing their origins and meanings is difficult. In any case, many African-American songs of the period deal with themes of freedom and escape, and distinguishing coded information from expression and sentiment may not be possible.

Legal and political

When frictions between North and South culminated in the American Civil War, many blacks, slave and free, fought with the Union Army. Causes of the war See also Origins of the American Civil War, Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War The coexistence of a slave-owning South Following passage of the Thirteenth Amendment, in some cases the Underground Railroad operated in reverse as fugitives returned to the United States. The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution officially abolished and continues to prohibit Slavery, and with limited exceptions such as those

Arrival in Canada

International Underground Railroad Memorial in Windsor, Ontario. Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and lies at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City-Windsor Corridor.

Estimates vary widely, but at least 30,000 slaves, some saying more than 100,000, escaped to Canada via the Underground Railroad. ^[9] The largest group settled in Upper Canada (called Canada West from 1841, and today southern Ontario), where numerous African Canadian communities developed. The Province of Upper Canada (French Province du Haut-Canada) was a British colony located in what is now the southern portion of the Province of Ontario The Province of Upper Canada (French Province du Haut-Canada) was a British colony located in what is now the southern portion of the Province of Ontario Southern Ontario is the portion of the Canadian province of Ontario lying south of the French River and Algonquin Park. Black Canadians', Caribbean Canadians, and African Canadians are designations used for people of Black African descent who reside in These were generally in the triangular region bounded by Toronto, Niagara Falls, and Windsor. Toronto (təˈrɒntoʊ colloquially pronounced or) is the largest city in Canada and is the provincial capital of Ontario Niagara Falls is a Canadian City of 82184 residents Geography and Climate Niagara Falls Ontario Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and lies at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. Nearly 1,000 refugees settled in Toronto, and several rural villages made up mostly of ex-slaves were established in Chatham-Kent and Essex County. For the town in England see Chatham Kent. The Municipality of Chatham-Kent ( 2006 Essex County is a County and Census division located in Southwestern Ontario and covers an area at the southernmost tip of Canada

Important black settlements also developed in more distant British colonies (now parts of Canada). These included Nova Scotia, Lower Canada (present-day Quebec), as well as Vancouver Island, where Governor James Douglas encouraged black immigration because of his opposition to slavery and because he hoped a significant black community would form a bulwark against those who wished to unite the island with the United States. Nova Scotia (ˌnəʊvəˈskəʊʃə ( Latin for New Scotland; Alba Nuadh Nouvelle-Écosse is a Canadian province located on Canada 's The Province of Lower Canada (French Province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Quebec (kwɨˈbɛk Vancouver Island is a large Island in British Columbia, Canada, one of several North American regions named after George Vancouver, the British Sir James Douglas, KCB, ( August 15, 1803 – August 2 1877) was a company fur-trader and a

Upon arriving at their destinations, many fugitives were disappointed. While the British colonies had no slavery, discrimination was still common. Many of the new arrivals had great difficulty finding jobs, in part because of mass European immigration at the time, and overt racism was common.

With the outbreak of the Civil War in the United States, many black refugees enlisted in the Union Army and, while some later returned to Canada, many remained in the United States. The Union Army was the army that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. Thousands of others returned to the American South after the war ended. The desire to reconnect with friends and family was strong, and most were hopeful about the changes emancipation and Reconstruction would bring.

Notable people

Notable locations

Contemporary literature

• 1829 Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World by David Walker (a call for resistance to slavery in Georgia)
• 1832 The Planter's Northern Bride by Caroline Lee Hentz
• 1852 Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

Related events

• 1776 – Declaration of Independence
• 1800 – Second Great Awakening
• 1820 – Missouri Compromise
• 1850 – Compromise of 1850
• 1850 – Fugitive Slave Act
• 1854 – Kansas-Nebraska Act
• 1857 – Dred Scott Decision
• 1858 – Oberlin-Wellington Rescue
• 1860 – Abraham Lincoln of Illinois elected the first Republican U.S. President
• 1861 through 1865 – American Civil War
• 1863 – Emancipation Proclamation issued by President Lincoln
• 1865 – Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution

See also

• National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
• Reverse Underground Railroad
• List of notable opponents of slavery‎
• List of African-American abolitionists
• Slavery in Canada
• Alice M. Ward Library
• Boston African American National Historic Site
• John Freeman Walls Historic Site
• Underground Railroad Bicycle Route

References

Sources

• Operating the Underground Railroad, from National Park Service. The National Park Service ( NPS) is the United States federal agency that manages all National Parks, many National Monuments, and other conservation
• The Underground Railroad, from PBS. The Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS) is a Non-profit Public broadcasting Television service with 354 member TV stations in the

• 1998
  • Forbes, Ella. Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) But We Have No Country: The 1851 Christiana Pennsylvania Resistance. Africana Homestead Legacy Publishers.
• 2000
  • Chadwick, Bruce. 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. Traveling the Underground Railroad: A Visitor's Guide to More Than 300 Sites. Citadel Press. ISBN 0-8065-2093-0.
• 2001
  • Blight, David W. Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. Passages to Freedom: The Underground Railroad in History and Memory. Smithsonian Books. ISBN 1-58834-157-7.
• 2002
  • Hudson, J. See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. Blaine. Fugitive Slaves and the Underground Railroad in the Kentucky Borderland. McFarland & Company. ISBN 0-7864-1345-X.
• 2003
  • Hendrick, George, and Willene Hendrick. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Fleeing for Freedom: Stories of the Underground Railroad As Told by Levi Coffin and William Still. Ivan R. Dee Publisher. ISBN 1-56663-546-2.
• 2004
  • Hagedorn, Ann. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Beyond the River: The Untold Story of the Heroes of the Underground Railroad. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-684-87066-5.
  • Griffler, Keith P. Front Line of Freedom: African Americans and the Forging of the Underground Railroad in the Ohio Valley. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0-8131-2298-8.
• 2005
  • Bordewich, Fergus M. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. "Bound for Canaan: The Underground Railroad and the War for the Soul of America". Harper Collins. ISBN 0-06-052430-8.

Further reading

• Underground Railroad, 1872, by William Still, from Project Gutenberg (classic book documenting the Underground Railroad operations in Philadelphia)
• Stories of the Underground Railroad, 1941, by Anna L. Project Gutenberg, abbreviated as PG, is a volunteer effort to Digitize, archive and distribute Cultural works Curtis (stories about Thomas Garrett, a famous agent on the Underground Railroad)
• "Robert Hayden: His Day is Now!" contains the poet's classic "Runagate, Runagate" ("Renegade, Renegade")

Folklore/Myth:

• New Jersey's Underground Railroad Myth-Buster: Giles Wright is on a Mission to Fine Tune Black History
• Putting it in Perspective: The Symbolism of Underground Railroad quilts
• Underground Railroad Quilts & Abolitionist Fairs
• Documentary Evidence is Missing on Underground Railroad Quilts

External links

• Africanaonline - A study of the Underground Railroad.
• Tracks to Freedom: Canada and the Underground Railroad
• Annual historic re-creation of Underground Railroad in Sugar Grove, Pennsylvania
• Friends of the Underground Railroad
• The William Still National Underground Railroad Foundation
• National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
• National Park Service: Aboard the Underground Railroad
• The Underground Railroad: Escape from Slavery | Scholastic.com
• National Geographic: Underground Railroad
• Maryland's Cooling Springs Farm: The Story of a Still-Existing Underground Railroad Safe-House
• Underground Railroad in Canada
• Tracks to Freedom - Canada.com special on the Underground Railway in Canada
• Ontario's Underground Railroad - Includes an interactive map, a tour, and more.
• Underground Railroad in Westfield, Indiana - Includes Anti-Slavery Friends Cemetery list and more
• Prospect Place mansion, Underground Railroad safehouse in Trinway, Ohio
• Underground Railroad Research Institute at Georgetown College
• The Oberlin Heritage Center-Learn about Oberlin's role in the Underground Railroad, the abolition movement, and more.
• Pathways to Freedom: Maryland and the Underground Railroad - educational website developed by Maryland Public Television
• NPS Underground Railroad Sites
• Adventure Cycling Association's Underground Railroad Bicycle Route
• Underground Railroad in Wisconsin, Wisconsin Historical Society