The Underground Railroad

In the 1840s newspapers began using a term Underground Railroad to refer to a mysterious network by which escaped slaves would travel northward, eventually finding freedom in Canada.

To some Americans, assisting escaped slaves was noble work. Yet it was also a serious violation of the federal laws pertaining to fugitive slaves, meaning such activity had to be kept very quiet.

A secretive organization by necessity, the Underground Railroad kept no records, and much of what we know about it is based on accounts written years later. But what is known is quite remarkable.

Men such as Levi Coffin organized groups of Quakers in Ohio and Indiana who helped transport slaves who had crossed the Ohio River from Kentucky.

And the heroic Harriet Tubman, who escaped from a life of slavery in Maryland, made many trips back into slave territory to lead others to freedom. She was called "Moses" by many, and the fanatical abolitionist John Brown called her "General Tubman."

While many of the workings of the Underground Railroad may always remain a secret, we do know that it did exist, and it did help thousands of slaves find new lives in freedom.

Photograph: Harriet Tubman/Library of Congress