The Underground Railroad To Freedom In The North

The Underground Railroad (U.G.R.R.) is a network of loosely connected safe havens or stations, strategically weaving throughout the United States toward freedom, existing specifically to assist those seeking escape from slavery^[1]. Crossing gender, religious, ethnic and socioeconomic lines, it was made up of hundreds of men and women who willingly put their opposition to slavery into action, often risking fines, whippings, their own livelihoods and potential death. Though not a physical railroad, the terminology^[2] is patterned after one. Some of the language used includes:

Tracks, which refer to safe routes developed by sympathizers.
Stations or depots were another name for hiding places in woods or forests, even such places as wells, swamps, stables, stores, hay lofts and more.
Conductors were those who offered guidance from station to station.
Agents were sympathizers who helped the enslaved connect to the escape system.
Station masters were those who hid the enslaved in strategic places to keep them safe until they could be transported to the next station and attended their immediate needs.
Cargo was those who were in the safe keeping of a conductor or station master.

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Communication

Communication was a key component to the success of the U.G.R.R. Spirituals^[3], often held coded messages, sang or hummed in full view of the enslaver offered both emotional and physical balm for the freedom seeker. “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” was thought to be a testament against slavery as well as a prayer of deliverance. “Steal Away” was believed to be a signal that it was time to escape. “Wade in the Water” was believed to contain instructions on how to evade the bloodhounds.

Anti-slavery publications such as The Liberator^[4], The North Star^[5] and The National Anti-Slavery Standard^[6], wrote about the issue, picked up information from other publications and also carried ads with hidden meanings.

Who Made Up the Underground Railroad

The names of those assisting are many acting in a multitude of capacities and cannot be captured in this piece. Just a few conductors, include Harriet Tubman^[7], John P. Parker^[8], John T. Ward^[9], Isaac Hopper^[10] and John Brown^[11]. Some religious groups were involved based on their teachings and belief that God’s law surpassed man’s law included the Quakers^[12] and Calvinists^[13]. Secrecy was key to the success of the U.G.R.R., so detailed information of the entire enterprise is not known but some correspondence^[14] has been uncovered.

Station masters provided food, shelter, clothing, attention to wounds and sickness, concealment, disguises, instructions and the handing off to others during the journey to freedom. Some names from history include Thomas Garrett^[15], John W. Jones^[16], Harriet Bell Hayden and Lewis Hayden^[17], and Henrietta Bowers Duterete^[18].

Abolitionists sought the immediate and full emancipation of all enslaved people, speaking openly while campaigning, organizing and advocating freedom for all. Some of them include Horace Greeley^[19], editor of the New York Times; William Lloyd Garrison^[20], editor of the Liberator; Frederick Douglass^[21]; James G. Birney^[22] and Elijah Lovejoy^[23].

Organizations such as the American Anti-Slavery Society^[24], the Anti-Slavery League^[25], and the Pennsylvania Society for the Abolition of Slavery^[26] worked out in the open against the institution of slavery.

Why Was It Necessary

The U.G.R.R. rose because of the increased numbers of people held in bondage and the savagery inflicted upon them. As land expansion increased, so did the demand for free labor. Due to their distinctive features, lack of familiarity with the terrain, and language barrier, it was easier to keep those of African descent in servitude. Slave auction houses^[27] were the norm at the time, where men, women and children, often in shackles were housed in pens like livestock and sold off to the highest bidder. Families torn apart, often never to know one another again. In addition, many laws^[28] were passed to restrict enslaved people and to retrieve them if they escaped.

Where to Find Information

The following examples are just the tip of the iceberg of what can be found across numerous states for the researcher to explore. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources^[29] offers an interactive map that allow the viewer to learn more about a specific U.G.R.R. site in their state.

Ohio^[30] offers a variety of maps depicting routes through their states.
Michigan offers information about important U.G.R.R. stops which include the Second Baptist Church^[31] in Detroit and the Historical First Congregational Church^[32].
Many states have U.G.R.R. historic markers. The Indiana Historical Bureau^[33] maintains a list of theirs.
Maryland’s Office of Tourism^[34] offers lots of information for various sites.
North Carolina’s Roanoke River is just one example of the waterways called freedom roads^[35] used as a means of transportation along the U.G.R.R.

Explore more about The Underground Railroad to Freedom in the North

Michna-Bales, Jeanine. Through Darkness to Light. Photographs Along the Underground Railroad. Princeton Architectural Press. 2017.
Gara, Larry. “Friends and the Underground Railroad.” Quaker History 51, no. 1 (Spring 1962): 3-19. Published by Friends Historical Association.
Kettler, Sara. “Harriet Tubman: Timeline of Her Life, Underground Railroad Service and Activism.” Biography.com. 2021.https://www.biography.com/activists/harriet-tubman-timeline-facts
Lovelace, Janice, Ph.D. “The (Underground) Railroad Runs Through Here.” Legacy Family Tree Webinars. 2019. https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/the-underground-railroad-runs-through-here/
Still, William. The Underground Railroad Records. Philadelphia: People’s Publishing Company, 1879.
HMdb.org. The Historical Marker Database. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=189451
Hawes, Jennifer Berry. “How a Grad Student Uncovered the Largest Known Slave Auction in the U.S.” Photography by Gavin McIntyre. ProPublica. June 16, 2023. https://www.propublica.org/article/how-grad-student-discovered-largest-us-slave-auction
Buffalo Toronto Public Media. Underground Railroad: The William Still Story. WNED PBS. https://www.wned.org/television/wned-productions/underground-railroad-the-william-still-story/stories-of-freedom/underground-railroad-terminology/
Siebert, William H. “The Underground Railroad in Massachusetts.” Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society 45 (1935): 25-100. https://www.americanantiquarian.org/proceedings/44806916.pdf
Willis, Deborah, and Barbara Krauthamer. Envisioning Emancipation: Black Americans and the End of Slavery. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2012.

References

[1] "Definition of SLAVERY". www.merriam-webster.com. 2024-08-22. Retrieved 2024-09-06.

[2] ttps://www.nypl.org/events/tours/audio-guides/subversion-art-slavery-abolition-audio/item/3475

[3] ttps://www.loc.gov/collections/songs-of-america/articles-and-essays/musical-styles/ritual-and-worship/spirituals

[4] ttps://transcription.si.edu/project/11766

[5] ttps://www.loc.gov/collections/frederick-douglass-newspapers/about-this-collection/

[6] ttps://nyheritage.org/collections/national-anti-slavery-standard

[7] ttps://www.biography.com/activists/harriet-tubman

[8] ttps://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/parker-john-p-1827-1900/

[9] ttps://www.becauseofthemwecan.com/blogs/culture/meet-john-t-ward-founder-of-the-oldest-black-owned-business-in-the-u-s

[10] ttps://web.tricolib.brynmawr.edu/speccoll/quakersandslavery/commentary/people/hopper.php

[11] ttps://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/john-brown

[12] ttps://www.york.ac.uk/borthwick/holdings/research-guides/race/quakers-and-slavery/

[13] ttps://www.christianity.com/church/denominations/what-is-calvinism.html

[14] ttps://pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca/theundergroundrailroad/chapter/underground-rail-road-letters/

[15] ttps://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=thomas+garrett+underground+railroad&mid=8DC69E36DCC3FFD9B6958DC69E36DCC3FFD9B695&view=detail&FORM=VIRE&PC=DCTS&cc=US&setlang=en-US&PC=DCTS&cvid=5d80bc05d95a47c59e40bd9062e1ecd3&qs=MT&nclid=3E467D405E62FBFA83273320C723C85C&ts=1724694589884

[16] ttps://www.jstor.org/stable/44213830?read-now=1#page_scan_tab_contents

[17] ttps://thewestendmuseum.org/history/era/west-boston/harriet-bell-hayden/

[18] ttps://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/duterte-henrietta-s-bowers-1817-1903/

[19] ttps://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/5777

[20] ttps://www.biography.com/authors-writers/william-lloyd-garrison

[21] ttps://www.history.com/topics/black-history/frederick-douglass

[22] ttps://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/james-g-birney/

[23] ttps://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/november-07/

[24] ttps://www.americanhistorycentral.com/entries/american-anti-slavery-society/

[25] ttps://www.americanhistorycentral.com/entries/american-anti-slavery-society/

[26] ttps://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/historic-document-library/detail/petition-from-the-pennsylvania-society-for-the-abolition-of-slavery-to-the-first-congress-1790

[27] ttps://www.virginiamemory.com/online-exhibitions/exhibits/show/to-be-sold/eyre-crowe/the-auction

[28] Fugitive Slave Acts ‑ Definition, 1793 & 1850 | HISTORY

[29] ttps://www.in.gov/dnr/historic-preservation/learn-about-topics/underground-railroad/underground-railroad-sites-in-indiana/

[30] ttps://www.google.com/search?q=ohio+underground+railroad+map+free&sca_esv=32e484f6156eb8e3&ei=D1LaZoehLIWPwbkPx7qw8Aw&oq=underground+railroad+mapohio&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiHHVuZGVyZ3JvdW5kIHJhaWxyb2FkIG1hcG9oaW8qAggBMgcQABiABBgNMggQABgIGA0YHjILEAAYgAQYhgMYigUyCxAAGIAEGIYDGIoFMgsQABiABBiGAxiKBTILEAAYgAQYhgMYigUyCxAAGIAEGIYDGIoFSL1NUNUIWNUTcAF4AZABAJgBb6ABiAOqAQMzLjG4AQHIAQD4AQGYAgWgApoDwgIKEAAYsAMY1gQYR8ICCBAAGIAEGKIEmAMAiAYBkAYIkgcDNC4xoAepHQ&sclient=gws-wiz-serp#vhid=WwwWVmie8wDXxM&vssid=l

[31] ttps://www.secondbaptistdetroit.org/

[32] ttp://friendsoffirst.com/underground-railroad-tours/

[33] ttps://www.in.gov/history/state-historical-markers/find-a-marker/find-historical-markers-by-category/underground-railroad-historical-markers/

[34] ttps://www.visitmaryland.org/explore-marylands-underground-railroad

[35] ttps://www.wral.com/story/tunnels-jails-and-canals-remnants-of-the-underground-railroad-still-exist-in-halifax-county/20121052/

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