Jul 3, 20204 min read

A Short Explanation of the Underground Railroad.

"If you hear the dogs, keep going. If you see the torches in the woods, keep going. If there's shouting after you, keep going. Don't ever stop. If you want a taste of freedom, keep going"- Harriet Tubman, Underground Railroad Conductor

The Underground Railway (UR) was first widely used between 1800 to 1865, it was a system in which slaves could escape from their owners, to a ‘free state’ where they could begin to live a life as a free person, often changing their name and appearance to ensure they could not be found. The names of different aspects, people and places involved in this escape system led to its nickname the ‘Underground Railroad’. People called ‘conductors’ would find and collect slaves that wanted to escape then lead them to a ‘station’. A station was a place such as; a house, school, or church where slaves and conductors could hide during the day. Stations were run by ‘station masters’, they would also provide food, water, a place to sleep and sometimes new clothes to make them look less like a slave. At night conductors would then lead slaves to another station and so on, sometimes walking 10-20 miles between each station, on occasion they would use different methods of transport including trains and boats. Conductors rarely took the same rout and would switch between different safehouses on each trip so that they were less easy to follow. The UR used codes to make it harder to find them such as; ‘tracks’ which were routes they could use, ‘depots’ which were hiding places and ‘goods’ which were the fugitive slaves, people who helped to finance the UR were called ‘stockholders’. The majority of the time slaves were escaping Southern states such as Texas, to Northern states many of which had already abolished slavery such as Massachusetts where slavery was abolished in 1783, these states were called ‘free states’. The North had more free slaves which meant it was much easier to hide, and most people were ‘anti-slavery’ so were less likely to report a suspected slave. Despite the views on slavery changing drastically in the north in 1793 a Fugitive Slave Act was put in place, this act was a group of laws to further prevent slaves escaping. The Fugitive Slave Act allowed owners to look for escaped slaves in free states, encouraged the return of slaves to their previous owners and provided financial rewards for finding escapee slaves. However, many free states didn’t follow these laws, more and more slaves began to escape and the UR became very active. As the Fugitive Act of 1793 wasn’t doing its job the Supreme Court put in place the Fugitive Act of 1850. The new Fugitive Act strengthened and added to existing laws, for example; a bigger financial reward for capturing slaves, slaves caught in free states had to be returned to their owners, it was illegal not to assist a police officer in capturing a slave if asked and if you were caught helping a slave the punishments were more extreme. The punishments for helping a fugitive slave varied between states, in a state where slavery was legal you could be heavily fined (around $500) or sent to prison (for around 6 months), if you were African American the punishment was likely to be more extreme and could include beatings or even hangings. As finding and returning slaves had such a high financial reward being a ‘slave catcher’ became more common, meaning it was even harder to hide as more people were looking for fugitives. When the Fugitive Act of 1850 was put in place conductors changed direction and took slaves to Canada where slavery had been abolished in 1834. It’s likely that the majority of people working in the UR were African Americans such as Fredrick Douglas, who had escaped slavery in Baltimore and moved to New York where he changed his name and became a free man, he was a station master, hiding fugitives in his home in Rochester, New York. Harriet Tubman is also a well-known figure in the UR she used it to escape her owner, and then went on to work as a conductor and saved hundreds of slaves, she made a total of 19 trips. Many religious groups were also actively involved in the UR most notably Quakers such as Levi Coffin who was a ‘station master’ and was nicknamed as the ‘president of the Underground Railroad’. It’s estimated that whilst the UR was running it freed around 100,000 slaves. The UR officially ended in 1865 with the end of the Civil War, and the 13th Amendment was put in place making slavery illegal across America.

I feel it is important to note that although slavery has been legally abolished in most countries modern slavery is still in practice in many ‘first world’ countries.

Quakers:

Quakers are a member of ‘The Religious Society of Friends’, a Christian movement founded by George Fox c. 1650 and devoted to peaceful principles. Central to the Quakers’ belief is the doctrine of the ‘Inner Light’, or sense of Christ’s direct working in the soul. This has led them to reject both formal ministry and all set forms of worship. (This definition is from Oxford Languages).

Modern Slavery:

Slavery is alive and well today but is largely ignored by the media and unnoticed by the public. It is not uncommon in ‘first world’ countries including the US and the UK but is often hidden in forced marriages, prostitution, child labour and much much more.

Modern Slavery Articles and information:

The Guardian- https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/19/us-modern-slavery-report-global-slavery-index

Charity, Free The Slaves- https://www.freetheslaves.net/our-model-for-freedom/slavery-today/

The Exodus Road- https://blog.theexodusroad.com/does-slavery-exist-in-america-today

TIME- https://time.com/5741714/end-modern-slavery-initiatives/

Charity, Anti-slavery- https://www.antislavery.org/slavery-today/

Quakers:

Map of the Underground Railroad:

https://etc.usf.edu/maps/pages/2200/2240/2240.htm

Websites Used:

Ourdocuments, Abolition of Slavery -https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=40

Africans in America, Judgement Day, Fredrick Douglass- https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1539.html