The Underground Railroad By. Brittany Gronda

What is the Underground Railroad? This was a network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19 th century black salves in the U.S. to escape to the free states in the North and to Canada Some routes also led to Mexico and Florida (the Spanish still had possession) Abolitionists (who were usually black) aided the fugitive slaves

*These are the main and well known routes, fugitive slaves could follow their own route or do something other than these*

Some Main Stations Albany, NY Boston, MA Camden, DE Wilmington, DE Philadelphia, PA Rochester, NY

How long did the Underground Railroad exist? The U.R. was created in 1780 and ended in 1862 when the United States Constitution outlawed slavery

Who Started it all? It is said that a Quaker man named Isaac T. Hopper began the system of hiding and assisting fugitive slaves

Physical Cruelties of Slavery Whippings Sometimes getting beaten with objects like a chair, broom, tongs, shovel, shears, knife handles, the heavy end of a woman’s shoe, and an oak club. Cutting limbs off Being shot In some instances, even death

Social Cruelties of Slavery 32% of slave marriages were ended by masters when the slaves were traded Children were separated form their families Masters did not want their slaves to practice any type of religion Living conditions were bad Food was scarce Clothing was unfavorable and limited

Methods of learning about/following the URR Songs Dances Quilts The Stars Word of mouth Code Words

Songs Follow the Drinking Gourd (follow the big dipper) Go Down Moses Let Us Break Bread Together Swing Low, Sweet Chariot Steal Away (To Jesus) Wade in the Water Song to the Free

Follow the Drinking Gourd This is probably the most well known song about the Underground Railroad There are also many different versions Examples: H.B. Parks Version Lee Hays Arrangement Randy Sparks Arrangement John Woodum Version TZP2U&feature=related

Quilts Since slaves could not read or write, they memorized these symbols that would help guide them on the URR Regular quilts without meaning were always seen hanging outside to dry on the plantation so to the owners the code quilts were nothing out of the norm and didn’t really look into what the quilts really meant

*This is an example of a route explained in a quilt*

Flying Geese This pattern meant to follow the direction of the flying geese as they migrated north in the spring (most slaves escaped during the spring) The flying geese could be used as a guide to find water, food and places to rest

Crossroads This was a pattern referring to Cleveland, Ohio, which was the main crossroads of multiple routes to freedom.

North Star This pattern had two messages: prepare to escape follow the North Star to freedom in the North

Bear’s Paw This pattern told slaves to follow a mountain trail, out of view, and then follow an actual bear’s trail which would lead to water and food

Monkey Wrench This pattern meant to gather all the tools required for the escape/journey, (physical, mental, and spiritual tools)

Bowtie/Hourglass This pattern meant that a slave needed to travel in disguise or change from “slave clothing” into clothing of a higher class (low class was even higher than slaves)

Sailboat This pattern meant that either water was nearby or that a boat was available

Shoofly This was a pattern that possibly identified a person who can guide and help the run away slaves The helpers also knew how to read the quilt codes

Tumbling Blocks This pattern signaled that there was a conductor in the area and that it was time to pack up and go

Broken Dishes This pattern meant that broken crockery was at some future landmark along the journey

Dunkard’s Path This was a warning signal pattern to take a zigzag route to stay away form slave hunters that were in the area (a slave spotted travelling south would not be suspected of escaping)

Log Cabin This pattern was put in quilts or drawn on the ground indicating that the runaway slave needed to find shelter of that there was a safe house nearby

Dresden Wheel/Wagon Wheel This pattern told the slave to pack items to travel by wagon or items that would normally be used when traveling by wagon This also could have meant that there may be a wagon, with hidden compartments that the fugitive slaves could hide in, that would be taking the route north to bring the hidden slaves to freedom

*This is an example of a complete code quilt*

Difficulties of the Journey Finding safe houses Staying hidden and not leaving any evidence or tracks Finding people they could actually trust Finding the trail clues usually in the dark

If Caught… Severe punishment Whippings Starvation Cutting off limbs More grueling and harsh work Death

Safe Houses To signal a safe house there would be one window lit up by a lantern At a safe house slaves could eat, drink, get clean, and maybe get some disguise clothing Inside there were hiding places for the slaves to stay during the day

Dangers of Safe House Owners In 1850 the Fugitive Slave Act was passed which said that if anyone found a fugitive slave in the North, they were to be returned to their owner in the South. If the slave was not returned and was aided, the aiding person would receive a fine of $1,000 and six months in jail The Fugitive Slave Act and the consequence of jail and fines did not stop abolitionists from assisting

*The news advertising court dates for the “slave kidnapper” trials*

Rebels Thomas Garrett- a Delaware station-master who paid over $8,000 in fines Calvin Fairbank- served over 17 years in prison for assisting fugitive slaves John Fairfield- a well known white conductor who was killed because he worked for the URR

Well Known Conductors Frederick Douglass (2/14/1818-2/20/1895) Harriet Tubman (?/?/1822-3/10/1913) William Still (8/7/1821-7/14/1902) Thomas Garrett (8/21/1789-1/25/1871)

Frederick Douglass Life and Time of Frederick Douglass “Secrecy and concealment were necessary conditions to the successful operation of this railroad, and hence its prefix “underground.” ” -Frederick Douglass Frederick was a former slave who earned his freedom and then went on to aid fugitive slaves to freedom as well

Harriet Tubman/Moses Harriet Tubman, The Moses of Her People “Those years were spent in work, almost by night and day, with the one object of the rescue of her people from slavery.” -Sarah Bradford “So she went nineteen times, and so she brought away over three hundred pieces of living and breathing “property,” with God given souls.” -Sarah Bradford Harriet Tubman was a former slave who ran away form a plantation in 1849 but returned to plantations to rescue other slaves and bring them to freedom. If Harriet personally couldn’t lead them to freedom, she would tell the slaves to follow the North star to freedom

William Still The Underground Railroad “After having arrived safely in New York, she found a home and kind friends in the family of Rev. A.N. Freeman, and received quite an ovation characteristic of an Underground Rail Road.” -William Still (describing the rescue of Anna Maria Weems) William Still was born into a free slave family Chairman of the Pennsylvania Society for the Abolition of Slavery

Thomas Garrett “No slave who placed himself under her care, was ever arrested that I’ve heard of…” -Thomas Garrett (speaking about Harriet Tubman in a letter written to Sarah Bradford) Thomas Garrett was a Quaker and known as one of the most active and most influential stationmasters working on the URR. Was a stationmaster for over four decades Helped about 2,700 runaway slaves to freedom

Slavery Abolition Timeline 1849 — Harriet Tubman escaped and later led 19 missions to the South to free slaves 1850–Fugitive Slave Act is passed, enacting stricter laws against slaves seeking refuge in free states 1857–The Dred Scott Decision determined a slave to be property and had no rights in court 1861–The Civil War begins with slavery being one of the leading issues 1863–The Emancipation Proclamation becomes effective, declaring slaves in the South free 1865–The Civil War ends, and slavery is formally abolished

Emancipation Proclamation Issued by Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War It was not a law passed by Congress. It proclaimed the freedom of slaves in the 10 rebelling states at that time Did not outlaw slavery

The 13 th Amendment The 13 th Amednment officially outlaws slaverey an invouluntay servitude,except as punishment for a crime. Passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, Passed by the House on January 31, 1865, Adopted on December 6, 1865

URR Statics It is estimated that by 1850 around 3,000 people worked on the URR By the middle of the 19th century it was estimated that over 50,000 slaves had escaped from the South using the URR About 30,000 slaves were caught trying to escape on the URR and some were killed

The End of the URR Once the 13 th amendment was enforced, there was no longer a need for an Underground Railroad All slaves were now free and didn’t have to risk their lives trying to gain it

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