The Underground Railroad, an informal network of houses, passageways, and people who helped slaves escape north to Canada, helped move 100,000 people safely between 1810 and 1850. Working undiscovered for years and evolving constantly during that time, the complex railroad involved many famous Americans, including Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass. Some of the nation's greatest humanitarians took part in this endeavor, whether through financing the expeditions or through personally guiding the fugitives to safety.
Slavery was prominent prior to the civil war, and escape was nearly impossible unless you became a passenger of the Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad was an informal network houses, passageways, and people who helped slaves escape north to Canada. The Underground Railroad was an important part of history involving many famous Americans.
The Underground Railroad wasn't an actual railroad; it was named for the popularity of travel by rail. It was an informal operation, with isolated cases of help as early as the seventeen hundreds. Although, it was effective early on, it wasn't dubbed the Underground Railroad until around 1831. It was never run by one particular person but by masses of humanitarians, black and white alike. In order for the Underground Railroad to continue unhampered they adopted train related terminology; for example places were fugitives would rest were stations, people who contributed finically were stockholders, and a conductor was someone who would guide the fugitives from one station to the next. The stockholders were needed to help the slaves get new clothing and pay for some boat or train rides. The new clothing was necessary to keep from attracting attention to the group, because a black in ragged clothing raised suspicion. It is estimated that between 1810 and 1850 the Underground Railroad safely moved 100,000 people to Canada.
The process of escaping to freedom was anything but easy. The book Bound for Canaan: The Underground Railroad describes what it would have been like for someone to escape. In the case described in the story a man is paying his master, by working in as a barber. He then meets a black man who is part of the Underground Railroad and he inspires him to escape. He carefully followed the man's instructions to go and meet with a group heading north. He is really scared as he embarks on his journey, but once he meets the conductor he is reassured. The man he met was George DeBaptiste a former slave who had escaped years before, and worked on the Underground Railroad. First they had to escape the slaveholder often without the help of conductors. They then had to meet with the conductor and begin on their road north. They traveled by foot, boat, and train to make it from station to station; the stations were often 15-20 miles apart. Once the fugitive would reach a station they would get food, clothing, and rest while waiting for word to head to the next station. They moved through the north even more carefully after the pass of the 1850 slave act that stated that if a fugitive salve was caught in the north then it had to be returned to its owner.
Many names of the people who bravely helped the fugitives will never be known but at the same time many are household names. Harriet Tubman who was also known as Moses, was an active part of the abolitionist cause and worked for black and women's rights. Fredrick Douglass, who wrote the Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglas, founded his own news paper called The North Star, spoke for the abolitionist cause, and escaped slavery at about twenty-one. Levi Coffin was a Quaker from Cincinnati and was known for his participation in the Underground Railroad.
The complex network worked undiscovered for years, evolving all the time. The Underground Railroad helped a huge number of people escape from slavery even under the most dangerous of circumstances. Masses of some of the greatest humanitarians worked as some part of the Underground Railroad, from personally guiding the fugitives, to simply financing the expeditions all of them contributed to the great success that was the Underground Railroad. It was a huge component of the abolitionist cause, in my opinion.
Works Cited:
Bordewich, Fergus, M. Bound for Canaan: The Underground Railroad and the War for the Soul of America. HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 2005.
