For the many African Americans who lived in the Slave States prior to and during the American Civil War, the Underground Railroad provided them the opportunity and assistance for escaping slavery and finding freedom. One of the most curious characteristics of the Underground Railroad was its lack of formal organization. No one knows exactly when it started, but there were certainly isolated cases of help given to runaways as early as the 1700s. By the early 19th century, there were organized flights to freedom. Much of the early help was provided by Quaker abolitionists in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Read the National Parks Service's (NPS) background report for more information.
As Charles H. Blockson describes in his National Geographic article "Escape from Slavery: The Underground Railroad," "it was a network of paths through the woods and fields, river crossings, boats and ships, trains and wagons, all haunted by the specter of recapture." The slaves' flight to freedom was made possible and facilitated by the courageous men and women who believed in the right of all humans to be free from human bondage.
The name probably originated from the popularity of the new railroads coupled with several legendary and publicized escapes (though they were not via the railroads. So, the old lithograph on our title page, a train heading literally underground, is not technically accurate. But at the possible risk of doing an historical disservice to all of the thousand of miles that were walked, hiked, swum, and above all, suffered - we choose the railroad cars as a symbol. It symbolizes the linking of forces to accomplish a common goal: to avoid the "specter of recapture" in the short term, and to right the heinous wrong of slavery in the long term.
The NPS reports: "Underground operations generally relied heavily on secret codes as railroad jargon alerted "passengers" when travel was safe. Runaways usually commuted either alone or in small groups, and were frequently assisted by African American and White "conductors" who risked their lives and property to escort refugees to freedom. Celebrated conductors of the Underground Railroad included James Fairfield, a White abolitionist who went into the Deep South and rescued enslaved African Americans by posing as a slave trader. In 1849, Harriet Tubman escaped from the Eastern Shore of Maryland and became known as "Moses" to her people when she made 19 trips to the South and helped deliver at least 300 fellow captives and loved ones to liberation. African American abolitionist John Parker of Ripley, Ohio, frequently ventured to Kentucky and Virginia and helped transport by boat hundreds of runaways across the Ohio River. Perhaps the closest the underground came to being formally organized was during the 1830s when African American abolitionists William Still, Robert Purvis, David Ruggles, and others organized and stationed vigilance committees throughout the North to help bondsmen to freedom. The intention of the vigilance committees was not to lure or personally guide runaways to freedom, but to offer whatever assistance they needed to reach their destinations."
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Copyrighted
2001, United States
of America
Anita Gonzalez & Ian Granick