People escape the underground railroad5/30/2023 Later in the year, Washington wrote another letter to William Drayton to explain that he had caught one of Drayton's runaways but that, when he sent the slave back to Baltimore, he had escaped and was aided in his efforts by some sort of escape network.ĭuring the mid-nineteenth century these informal and clandestine escape networks expanded as the abolitionist movement gained pace in the North. Reports of sympathetic whites organizing to assist slaves in their escape efforts first emerged in a letter penned by George Washington (1732–1799) in 1786 in which Washington complained of a local slave who had been aided in his flight by a society of Quakers formed for such purposes. James Harris Fairchild (1817–1902), an abolitionist and the president of Oberlin College, also emphasized the critical role played by free black communities in Cincinnati, Philadelphia, and Wilmington. For example, the free black community of Columbia, Pennsylvania, used its prime location on the states border with Maryland to welcome and hide fugitive slaves. Existing slave rumor and communication networks disseminated helpful information about safe houses, escape routes, and destinations, while sympathetic free blacks and whites offered food and protection along the way. ![]() Though fugitive slaves often acted alone, many received aid on their journeys. This was particularly important in the aftermath of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 that criminalized the protection of fugitive slaves in the North. Upon arrival, fugitive slaves often sought refuge in existing free black communities where they would be less likely to be discovered. Others hid on railroad cars or various watercraft in an effort to get to safety. Some runaways stole wagons or horses from their masters as a mode of transportation. Nourishment could be attained through pilfering foodstuffs from nearby farms and plantations. Risk of capture was too high during the daylight hours and finding hiding places to eat and rest was essential. Fugitive slaves that fled on foot tended to travel at night using the North Star for direction. Instead, most fugitive slaves made their own way out of the South, risking beatings and resale downriver if caught. Many were unaware of abolitionists and received little outside aid on their precarious journeys. Some fugitive slaves did travel northward with a hope of reaching the free states or Canada. Others headed even further south to Florida finding enslavement amongst the Seminole Indians preferable to their former enslavement to whites. Some traveled to southern cities where they could avoid detection by hiding amongst large free black populations. In some areas, such as the Great Dismal Swamp on the Virginia- North Carolina border, full-scale maroon societies were established providing refuge to large numbers of fugitive slaves. Many stayed within the South finding hiding places in nearby swamps or woodlands. However, for some enslaved people these short-term escapes laid the groundwork for future attempts to run away for good.Ĭanada and northern free states were not the only destinations for fugitive slaves. Though they opposed these acts in principle, slaveholders tolerated them because most slaves returned within a matter of days. A variety of motives underpinned these acts of everyday resistance, including: fear of sale to another master the sale of kin or a loved one a change in status on the plantation being overworked and severe punishment at the hands of slaveholders or overseers. It was common practice for slaves to run away for short periods of time. Though estimates vary significantly, thousands of slaves were aided in their escape by the Underground Railroad.Įnslaved people of African descent had been escaping from southern plantations and farms since they were first brought to North America in the seventeenth century. ![]() Civil War (1861–1865) approached, the Underground Railroad received increasing support from northern abolitionists and exerted tremendous pressure on the institution of slavery itself. Though many fugitive slaves acted alone, others were supported in their escape efforts by a loosely connected network of routes, safe houses, and individuals collectively known as the Underground Railroad. ![]() South, conditions were so intolerable that they opted to flee their masters and head northward to the free states, to Canada, or to points south, west, or out to sea. For many people of African descent enslaved in the U.S.
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