Underground Railroad Article #JustWriteIt

Underground railroad - Danielle Matthews

Between the years 1780 and 1865 enslaved black Americans would use the underground railroad to escape to Canada and free states. The underground railroad was not an actual railroad, but a series of secret routes and safe houses assisting slaves in reaching freedom. The "railroad" reached its height between the 1840's and 1860's. There were often guides who were abolitionists (people who recognized the slavery system to be corrupt), to aid in the transportation between safe houses. Although the railroad began operating in the 1780's, it only became known as "the underground railroad" in the 1830's, when the aids began using railroad terminology as code.

Those who helped people move from point A to point B were known as "conductors" and the fleeing refugees were called either "passengers" or "cargo". Spots where one could safely stop and rest were called "stations". Even places had code names, one that was common for escapees to leave was Detroit, known as "midnight". The Detroit river was called "Jordan", a biblical reference to the river that led to promised land. Wherever the refugees final stop was, was often called "dawn". Abolitionists could communicate fairly effortlessly without coming right out and saying what they were doing. One could say "take the railroad from midnight to dawn" and not be specific enough for anyone else to catch on.

During its peak, an estimated 1,000 slaves per year escaped from slave-holding states using the underground railroad. Under the original Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, officials of enslaves states were responsible for the recovery of run-away slaves; however, many citizens and even governments ignored the law, and so the underground railroad continued fruitfully. Unfortunately, after much provocation from southern politicians, and possibly the pearl incident (in which 77 slaves attempted to escape to Canada via boat, only to be stopped later), the Compromise of 1850 was passed, compelling officials of free states to assist slave-catchers, giving them a pardon to operate in free states. Due to the sparse documentation needed to prove someone was a fugitive, many slave-catchers also enslaved free blacks, especially children.

Southern politicians often exaggerated the number of escaped slaves, and because of the new law, suspected slaves were disallowed to defend themselves in court, effectively making it impossible to prove their free status. In a de facto bribe, judges were paid $10 if they decided the suspect was a slave, whereas they only made $5 if they found someone innocent.

To reduce the risk of someone tipping off local authorities, most "conductors" only knew what part they had in everything, rather than the whole system. The runaways would travel during the day and stop at the so-called stations to rest. These stations were commonly located in barns, under church floors, or in hiding-places in caves or hollowed-out riverbanks.

Estimates vary widely, but at least 30,000 slaves, and potentially more than 100,000, escaped to Canada via the Underground Railroad.

Throughout the years, hundreds of abolitionists risked their lives to help the refugees cause, many of them losing their lives and worse. Perhaps the most famous of these 18th century heroes, is Harriet Tubman, who was born into slavery before escaping at a young age. Tubman returned to America 17 times, first for her family, then for anyone who was brave enough to follow in her example. It is said that she never once lost a run-away, with the help of William Still, who kept records of every person they helped in his "The Underground Railroad records". Other notable "conductors" include...

Harriet Ross

Thomas Garret

John Fairfield

Fredrick Douglass

William Lloyd Garrison

Harriet Beecher Stowe

John Brown

Henry David Thoreau

Samuel Burris

James W.C. Pennington

Many of whom have written accounts of everything that transpired within their knowledge. However, as it was very dangerous to do so, we do not have as much information as we would necessarily like. An unfortunate precaution needed due to the secrecy that was imperative.

It has been rumoured that the slave sympathizers used quilts with specific patterns to inform refugees of dangers ahead, upcoming stations and even warnings. But due to a lack of findings in the albeit limited resources, this has been disproven.