Discover the Underground Railroad and harrowing escapes from slavery
Learn more about the Underground Railroad, which helped enslaved people escape to...
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Transcript
No one knows exactly who coined the term “Underground Railroad” or when. But we do know that as long as there has been slavery in America, there have been people determined to escape it and other people willing to help them.
Some of the conductors along this network of safe-houses and secrecy have become as legendary as the railroad itself. Harriet Tubman had once been enslaved but became known as the Moses of her people. She was a conductor on the Underground Railroad who personally ferried at least 300 people to freedom. Almost as celebrated is William Still, a free black abolitionist from the North who helped hundreds of people flee from slavery through Philadelphia. Still’s 1872 book, The Underground Railroad, is one of our most important historical records from the time.
But not everyone who helped people escape slavery has become a folk hero. Some were just regular working people who did what they could.
The Ohio River was a natural barrier separating slave states from free states.
It was also an important transportation route. In the mid-19th century hundreds of steam-powered paddle boats regularly traversed the river. Segregation aboard these vessels meant that black employees worked mostly on their own, away from white workers and patrons. This allowed them to hide away people fleeing from slavery and help them on their way.
Northern states were not truly safe for people who had escaped slavery. As long as they remained in the United States, there was the risk that slave hunters might abduct them and return them to bondage. And free states had their own host of issues with segregation and discrimination. Nevertheless, some of these courageous people decided to remain in Ohio and endure the oppression and risk they faced for the chance to help save relatives who had been left behind.
Does your family have any ties with the Underground Railroad?
Some of the conductors along this network of safe-houses and secrecy have become as legendary as the railroad itself. Harriet Tubman had once been enslaved but became known as the Moses of her people. She was a conductor on the Underground Railroad who personally ferried at least 300 people to freedom. Almost as celebrated is William Still, a free black abolitionist from the North who helped hundreds of people flee from slavery through Philadelphia. Still’s 1872 book, The Underground Railroad, is one of our most important historical records from the time.
But not everyone who helped people escape slavery has become a folk hero. Some were just regular working people who did what they could.
The Ohio River was a natural barrier separating slave states from free states.
It was also an important transportation route. In the mid-19th century hundreds of steam-powered paddle boats regularly traversed the river. Segregation aboard these vessels meant that black employees worked mostly on their own, away from white workers and patrons. This allowed them to hide away people fleeing from slavery and help them on their way.
Northern states were not truly safe for people who had escaped slavery. As long as they remained in the United States, there was the risk that slave hunters might abduct them and return them to bondage. And free states had their own host of issues with segregation and discrimination. Nevertheless, some of these courageous people decided to remain in Ohio and endure the oppression and risk they faced for the chance to help save relatives who had been left behind.
Does your family have any ties with the Underground Railroad?