For example:
- People who helped enslaved people find the railroad were "agents" (or "shepherds")
- Guides were known as "conductors"
- Hiding places were "stations" or "way stations"
- "Station masters" hid escaping slaves in their homes
- People escaping slavery were referred to as "passengers" or "cargo"
- Enslaved people would obtain a "ticket"
- Similar to common gospel lore, the "wheels would keep on turning"
Who was involved in the Underground Railroad?
Contemporary scholarship has shown that most of those who participated in the Underground Railroad largely worked alone, rather than as part of an organized group. There were people from many occupations and income levels, including former enslaved persons.
What were the fugitives called on the Underground Railroad?
The fugitives traveling along the routes were called “passengers,” and those who had arrived at the safe houses were called “cargo.” Contemporary scholarship has shown that most of those who participated in the Underground Railroad largely worked alone, rather than as part of an organized group.
How did the Underground Railroad get its name?
The Underground Railroad derived its name from the terminology used throughout the routes. The railroad included conductors, including William Still, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, arguably the most prominent one. It also included agents, stations, stationmasters, passengers or cargo, and even stockholders.
Who was involved in the construction of the first railroad?
The railroad included conductors, including William Still, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, arguably the most prominent one. It also included agents, stations, stationmasters, passengers or cargo, and even stockholders.
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Who were the passengers on the Underground Railroad?
The Underground Railroad was the network used by enslaved black Americans to obtain their freedom in the 30 years before the Civil War (1860-1865).
Who was the main conductor of the Underground Railroad?
Harriet TubmanOur Headlines and Heroes blog takes a look at Harriet Tubman as the most famous conductor on the Underground Railroad. Tubman and those she helped escape from slavery headed north to freedom, sometimes across the border to Canada.
Who helped slaves in the Underground Railroad?
The Underground Railroad had many notable participants, including John Fairfield in Ohio, the son of a slaveholding family, who made many daring rescues, Levi Coffin, a Quaker who assisted more than 3,000 slaves, and Harriet Tubman, who made 19 trips into the South and escorted over 300 slaves to freedom.
Who was one of the most famous and successful conductors on the Underground Railroad?
Harriet Tubman, born Araminta Ross in Dorchester County, Maryland, was one of the most famous conductors on the Underground Railroad, an abolitionist, suffragist, activist, and served in the Civil War as leader, nurse, cook, scout, and spy.
Who was the President of the Underground Railroad?
Bettmann Archive/Getty Images. Known as the “president of the Underground Railroad,” Levi Coffin purportedly became an abolitionist at age 7 when he witnessed a column of chained enslaved people being driven to auction.
What was the role of the Quakers in the Underground Railroad?
Quakers played a huge role in the formation of the Underground Railroad, with George Washington complaining as early as 1786 that a “society of Quakers, formed for such purposes , have attempted to liberate” a neighbor’s slave. Anti-slavery sentiment was particularly prominent in Philadelphia, where Isaac Hopper, a convert to Quakerism, ...
What did John Brown do?
Like his father before him, John Brown actively partook in the Underground Railroad, harboring runaways at his home and warehouse and establishing an anti-slave catcher militia following the 1850 passage of the Fugitive Slave Act.
How did Levi Coffin become an abolitionist?
Known as the “president of the Underground Railroad,” Levi Coffin purportedly became an abolitionist at age 7 when he witnessed a column of chained enslaved people being driven to auction. Getting his start bringing food to fugitives hiding out on his family’s North Carolina farm, he would grow to be a prosperous merchant and prolific “stationmaster,” first in Newport (now Fountain City), Indiana, and then in Cincinnati. All told, he claimed to have assisted about 3,300 enslaved people, saying he and his wife, Catherine, rarely passed a week without hearing a telltale nighttime knock on their side door. Operating openly, Coffin even hosted anti-slavery lectures and abolitionist sewing society meetings, and, like his fellow Quaker Thomas Garrett, remained defiant when dragged into court. “The dictates of humanity came in opposition to the law of the land,” he wrote, “and we ignored the law.”
What river was used to cross the border between slaves and free states?
The Ohio River , which marked the border between slave and free states, was known in abolitionist circles as the River Jordan. For enslaved people on the lam, Madison, Indiana, served as one particularly attractive crossing point, thanks to an Underground Railroad cell set up there by blacksmith Elijah Anderson and several other members of the town’s Black middle class. Light skinned enough to pass for a white slave owner, Anderson took numerous trips into Kentucky, where he purportedly rounded up 20 to 30 enslaved people at a time and whisked them to freedom, sometimes escorting them as far as the Coffins’ home in Newport. The work was exceedingly dangerous. A mob of pro-slavery whites ransacked Madison in 1846 and nearly drowned an Underground Railroad operative, after which Anderson fled upriver to Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Continuing his activities, he assisted roughly 800 additional fugitives prior to being jailed in Kentucky for “enticing slaves to run away.” On what some sources report to be the very day of his release in 1861, Anderson was suspiciously found dead in his cell.
How many people did Moses pull out?
Nicknamed “Moses,” she went on to become the Underground Railroad’s most famous “conductor,” embarking on about 13 rescue operations back into Maryland and pulling out at least 70 enslaved people, including several siblings.
What happened to the Underground Railroad in 1846?
The work was exceedingly dangerous. A mob of pro-slavery whites ransacked Madison in 1846 and nearly drowned an Underground Railroad operative, after which Anderson fled upriver to Lawrenceburg, Indiana.
How many people escaped the Underground Railroad?
Although estimates of the number of people who escaped through the Underground Railroad between 1820 and 1861 vary widely, the figure most often cited is approximately 100,000. Photo: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Jean Blackwell Hutson Research and Reference Division, The New York Public Library.
Who helped slaves find their way to the routes of the Underground Railroad?
The conductors were the guides, agents helped slaves find their way to the routes of the Underground Railroad, the stations were hiding places usually homes, stationmasters were those that hid slaves in their homes, the cargo referred to escaped slaves, and stockholders were those that donated money to keep the Underground Railroad running.
What was the success of the Underground Railroad?
The success of the Underground Railroad rested on the cooperation of former runaway slaves, free-born blacks, Native Americans, and white and black abolitionists who helped guide runaway slaves along the routes and provided their homes as safe havens. Although estimates of the number of people who escaped through the Underground Railroad between ...
How did the Underground Railroad get its name?
The Underground Railroad derived its name from the terminology used throughout the routes. The railroad included conductors, including William Still, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, arguably the most prominent one. It also included agents, stations, stationmasters, passengers or cargo, and even stockholders.
Why was the Underground Railroad established?
The Underground Railroad was established to aid enslaved people in their escape to freedom. The railroad was comprised of dozens of secret routes and safe houses originating in the slaveholding states and extending all the way to the Canadian border, the only area where fugitives could be assured of their freedom.
