The Railroad with no Tracks (Article 101)

The Underground Railroad had no engines, no cars, no tracks, no signals, no stations, and no conductors; at least as we usually define those words. But in fact, those terms were used to define one of the most humanitarian enterprises in the history of the United States; the assisted passage of escaped slaves from bondage in the South to safety in the Northern states. Those who participated in the Underground Railroad considered the institution of slavery, although legal in many states, inhumane and immoral; and were committed to aid those who were fleeing bondage. And, it was not a mission without risk!

Historians believe that, between 1830 and 1861, about 30,000 enslaved people escaped from Southern slave-holding states using the Underground Railroad. The resulting economic loss to slave-holders from escaped slaves was minuscule, as compared to loss from death (natural or not), but the potential for loss if the “problem” grew worse was worrisome to them. So, they did all they could to recapture the runaways; however, the Underground Railroad, and those who ran it, were a thorn in the side to a slave-holder. To both prevent financial loss from escapees, and to maintain control over the others still enslaved, slave-holders continually sought to recover fugitive slaves. It did not matter to the “owner” whether the escapees were captured and returned by so called slave-catchers, or through court action brought against both the located slaves and those who harbored them. Most Southern newspapers contained notices about slaves who had escaped with rewards offered for their capture and return.  Under the original Fugitive Slave act of 1793, and amendments added later, officials from free states were legally required to assist slaveholders, or their agents who recaptured fugitives, in the return of their property; however, many northern citizens and local and state authorities simply ignored the law.

Fugitive slaves were not the only people at risk from slave catchers. With demand for slaves high in the deep South, any Black person of working age was seen as a valuable commodity and an opportunity for profit. As a result, free Blacks were sometimes kidnapped and sold into slavery. Although free Blacks carried documents which attested to their free status, the papers could easily be destroyed or stolen and provided little protection from the predator slave catchers. 

If an escaped slave was located, but protected from return by Northern citizens, the slaveholder could bring an action in court under the law. The process, however, was hardly fair and balanced justice. The law limited the rights of people suspected of being slaves to defend themselves in court, making it difficult to prove free status. Under the terms of the federal Fugitive Slave Act, those captured could be brought to a designated court-house to appear before a Commissioner or Judge.  The marshal or private slave-catcher only needed to swear an oath that the prisoner was a fugitive slave and the Commissioner/Judge would issue an order for return of the property to its owner. There was not even a requirement that the actual legal owner (the slave-holder) of the human property be identified at the proceeding; as it was expected that could be done later after the captured slave was back in slave-holding territory.  Some Commissioners even accepted a fee, under the table of course, for ruling that the “prisoner” should be returned to a slave state.  Of course, when a fugitive slave was returned to the control of his owner, the repercussions were usually severe, including public beatings and/or sale of the slave away from family. And, there were even some executions as a horrific deterrent message to other slaves who might have considered escape.

Many Northerners who otherwise ignored slavery in the South, nevertheless opposed enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Laws in cases where the escaped slave made it to a free state. However, Southern states resented any attempt in Northern courts to blunt the effectiveness of the Fugitive Slave Act, and this disregard of the law contributed to the South’s willingness to consider secession. In contrast, Northern jurisdictions resented the law that required a free state to participate in the perpetuation of slavery. Those two opposing views certainly helped divide the country and contributed to the Civil War.

The escape network used rail road terminology such as stations and conductors, simply because that nomenclature was well known since rail travel was a prevalent transportation system at that time. It was called the Underground Railroad because the escaping slaves, who took passage on it, disappeared from public view as if they had gone into the ground. The railroad was a series of travel connections along a trail or waterway which led to pre-arranged hiding places called depots or stations.  People escaping slavery were referred to as passengers or cargo, those who helped the fugitive find their first stop along the railroad were agents, guides were known as conductors, and station masters hid enslaved people, sometimes in their homes. Financial benefactors, who provided money or supplies, were known as stockholders. The Underground Railroad was often described to slaves as the freedom or gospel train.

The Underground Railroad consisted of meeting points, secret routes, transportation, and safe houses, all of them maintained by abolitionist sympathizers and communicated by word of mouth. Participants generally organized in small, independent groups to help maintain secrecy and to reduce the risk of infiltration, with each individual or group knowing only connecting stations within their immediate area. People escaping enslavement would move on indirect routes, weaving east and west to confuse pursuers, but always generally toward north to the next station. They traveled at night, usually about 10–20 miles to each station, there they rested, and then a message was sent to the next station to let that station master know the escapees were on their way. In addition to private homes, the stations were often located in barns, under church floors, or in hiding places in caves and hollowed-out riverbanks. Although the fugitives sometimes traveled by boat, they usually walked or perhaps were able to ride in a wagon. Most escapes were by individuals or small groups of two to five; however, occasionally, there were larger mass escapes. Abolitionist Charles Torrey and his colleagues used horse-pulled wagons and often transported as many as 15 to 20 enslaved people at a time.

The journey was often considered particularly difficult and dangerous for women with children. The younger boys and girls were sometimes hard to keep quiet or were unable to keep up with a group. As a result, while many women did escape with some taking their small children, tragically, and too often, the mothers were forced to choose between two terrible options: (1) a chance at freedom and leave their children behind, or (2) to stay with their children and all of them remain slaves. Could there have been a more heart-wrenching decision for a mother to make?

Conductors on the railroad came from various backgrounds and included White abolitionists, free-born Blacks, former slaves and Native Americans. Church clergy and congregations of the North often played a role, especially the Quakers, Congregationalists, and Reformed Presbyterians, as well as the anti-slavery branches of denominations which split over the slavery issue, such as the Methodists and Baptists. For example, Quaker abolitionist Levi Coffin, and his wife Catherine, helped more than 2,000 former slaves escape to freedom. And, William Still, sometimes called The Father of the Underground Railroad, helped hundreds of enslaved people to escape, sometimes hiding them in his Philadelphia home. Those he assisted eventually escaped either further north in the U.S. or even on to Canada, where slavery had been abolished in the 1830s. He kept careful records, including short biographies of the people and maintained correspondence with many of them. Remarkably, on occasion, Mr. Still was even able to secretly get a communication for escapees back to members of their families who were still slaves in the South. In 1872, he published these accounts in the book, The Underground Railroad: Authentic Narratives and First-Hand Accounts.

Becoming a conductor or station master was risky for the White citizens who chose to help fugitive slaves reach freedom. In most parts of the Northern states, their neighbors were more likely than not to notify authorities of any assistance given to escaping slaves. Because abolition was a minority point of view in the North, once the White citizen’s participation in helping escaping slaves became known, it was not unusual for them to be shunned by friends and even family. While the risks could be serious for the White citizens, for the Black men and women who became conductors in the underground railroad, it could be deadly. Some of them, at great personal risk, even secretly went back into slave states to help others escape and a certain death sentence awaited if they were caught. But they still took the risk and went back! As only one example, former slave, Harriet Tubman, was active in the Underground Railroad and made several trips into the South to guide other slaves to freedom. She was an extraordinary woman; however, except for a few historians, we have only begun to recognize her accomplishments over the past few years.

Although secrecy was important, over time, some abolitionists just could not keep quiet about their accomplishments. By the 1850s, there were public meetings in Northern churches and philosophical societies at which the workings of the Underground Railroad were discussed; and the proceedings were often reported in local newspapers. Some of these meeting could be justified by abolitionists because they raised money for their cause and educated other Northerners about the moral imperative to end slavery. However, among some, there may have also been a desire to enhance their abolitionist reputations. Frederick Douglass, who had escaped slavery, thought some benefactors talked too much about the process: He wrote, “I never approved of the very public manner in which some of our western friends have conducted what they call the Underground Railroad, but which I think, by their open declarations, has been made most emphatically the Upper Ground Railroad.” He believed that some of the benefactors spoke publicly about the process to satisfy their own ego and to increase their reputations as abolitionists or caring Christians. While he respected the movement, he had concerns that the publicity made slave-owners more watchful and, in turn, riskier for other slaves to escape.

So, was the Underground Railroad effective? Judged just by the numbers, it only managed to make a small dent in the institution of slavery. For although about 30,000 former slaves used the underground railroad to reach freedom, the Southern states held nearly four million slaves, so the numbers might not seem significant overall. However, certainly to any of the individuals who successfully escaped slavery and found freedom, the Underground Railroad was highly effective.

 And, isn’t that what really counts!