Harriet Tubman & The Underground Railroad |
What is the underground railroad?
The Underground Railroad is a large and diverse network of people who helped fugitive slaves escape to the North and Canada. It was not ran by any single organization or person, but consisted of many individuals who knew only of fugitive aids and local efforts. The Underground Railroad moved hundreds of slaves to the north each year. According to one estimate, the South lost around 100,000 slaves between the years 1810 and 1850. It is said that an organizes system to assist runaway slaves began towards the end of the 18th century. The slaves were helped by a society of Quakers. The system only grew larger and in 1831 was dubbed The Underground Railroad. The system used term from railroading: the homes and businesses where fugitives would rest and eat were called "stations" and "depots" and were run by "stationmasters", the people who contributed money or goods were "stockholders" and the "conductor" was responsible for moving fugitives form one station to the next.
Running away to the North was a very difficult task. The first step was to escape from the slaveholder. For most slaves, this meant relying on his or her own resources. There were many times a "conductor," posing as a slave, would enter a plantation and then guide the runaways northward. They would move at night. They would travel between 10 and 20 miles to next station where they would take shelter. While they waited, a message would be sent to the next station to alert its stationmaster. Some fugitives would travel by train and boat. There were vigilance committees that sprang up in the larger towns and cities of the North. They would solicit money and the organizations provided food, lodging and money, and helped the fugitive slaves settle into a community by helping them find jobs and providing letters of recommendation. The Underground Railroad had many notable and successful participants. The most famous are John Fairfied in Ohio who made many daring rescues, Levi Coffin who assisted more then 3,000 slaves and Harriet Tubman who made 19 trips into the South and escorted over 300 slaves to freedom.