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The Underground Railroad existed as far back as the 1770s, and by the 1830s a bigger network of abolitionists including Harriet Tubman helped slaves escape to Canada.
It consisted of churches, private homes and sometimes forested areas. Slaves who tried to run away from the plantations deep in the southern states of the U.S. were taking enormous risks, and most of them had to move at night while resting during the day. Southerners were furious with the 1842 Supreme Court decision Prigg vs. Pennsylvania, which declared that the states were not required to enforce the Fugitive Slave Act, which was later given more far reaching powers as part of the Compromise of 1850. Even as far north as New York and Philadelphia, as slave was not out of danger yet. They still could have been apprehended by bounty hunters and federal marshals. Routes from one safe-house to another were called lines. Slaves would rest at a station, and would be given food and clothing by stockholders. Conductors helped slaves get from one station to the next. The distance between the safe-houses were on average ten to twenty miles, and to help the weary, frightened slaves find their way to safety, lanterns were placed outside homes which would be a sign that the occupants inside would give them shelter and a hot meal. The exact locations of safe-houses and escape routes were passed on verbally and changed often to confuse and frustrate slave catchers, since newspapers in the American south consistently ran notices and ads which promised big rewards for capturing fugitive slaves. Why Did Slaves Run Away?Their existence was harsh, and being sold to another owner was a common occurrence, which in turn separated families. Getting an education was impossible, and slaves were forced to work long hours every day in return for scant shelter, food and clothing. Getting beaten, whipped or raped by the master or somebody in the master's family were unavoidable facts of life for a slave, and if they were traded to a farm further south it meant their chances of escaping would be remote. Harriet TubmanBorn in Dorchester County, Maryland in 1820, Tubman started her life as a slave and later became the most famous conductor to lead slaves to freedom. Eventually making her way to Philadelphia, she was also known as the "Moses of her people." She risked her life time and time again when making trips into slave states to liberate her fellow African-Americans. She was never caught, much to the irritation of southerners who by 1856 had posted a $40,000 reward for her capture. Frederick DouglassA prominent abolitionist and publisher of the North Star, an anti-slavery newspaper, he was also a native of Maryland like Harriet Tubman. In 1847 he settled in Rochester, New York which was one of the final stops along the railroad before slaves reached the Canadian border. He and his wife became active conductors while using their home as a station. Other Famous AbolitionistsThe following individuals were instrumental in helping thousands of slaves find their way north to freedom:
Freedom at LastMany slaves crossed the border at the Niagara River on their way to St. Catharines, and others used what is now the Detroit-Windsor corridor to reach Essex County in Ontario. Finally, after months of dodging slave hunters and travelling hundreds of miles, they reached a land where one of the most dreaded institutions in history was abolished. Sources: www.pbs.org www.pathways.thinkport.org Dr. Alan Axelrod and Charles Phillips, What Every American Should Know About American History, Bob Adams, Inc. 1992 www.history.rochester.edu
The copyright of the article The Underground Railroad in American History is owned by Scott Hayden. Permission to republish The Underground Railroad in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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