{"id":2728,"date":"2024-02-01T18:25:01","date_gmt":"2024-02-01T18:25:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-288pinsker\/?page_id=2728"},"modified":"2024-02-20T03:01:52","modified_gmt":"2024-02-20T03:01:52","slug":"underground-railroad","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-288pinsker\/course-syllabus\/underground-railroad\/","title":{"rendered":"Underground Railroad"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>NPS UGRR Handbook<\/h2>\n<blockquote><p>Runaways gave abolition its most enduring issue, the fugitive slave controversy, and its most dynamic exponents, fugitive slave abolitionists. The impact of the abolitionist underground on national and even international politics is undeniable.<strong>&#8211;Manisha Sinha<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>From the moment some states began abolishing slavery in the late 1700s to the moment slave states began seceding from the Union in late 1860, fugitive slaves had created political problems that ultimately contributed to the coming of the Civil War. <strong>&#8211;James Oakes<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Almost any legend may contain a grain of fact that can help us understand the diversity of the underground, and how it worked from place to place. But legends alone do not help us understand the realities of slavery, abolitionism, the struggle of enslaved people for freedom, the real experiences of fugitives, or the way the Underground Railroad actually operated. <strong>&#8211;Fergus Bordewich<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/ugrr\/thematic-essays\/the-abolitionist-underground-sinha\/\">Manisha Sinha, The Abolitionist Underground<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/ugrr\/thematic-essays\/the-politics-of-fugitive-slaves-oakes\/\">James Oakes, Politics of Fugitive Slaves<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/ugrr\/thematic-essays\/myths-of-the-underground-railroad-bordewich\/\">Fergus Bordewich, Myths of the Underground Railroad<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Image Gateway<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-288pinsker\/files\/2024\/02\/Branded-Hand.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2739\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-288pinsker\/files\/2024\/02\/Branded-Hand.jpeg\" alt=\"Branded Hand\" width=\"750\" height=\"454\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-288pinsker\/files\/2024\/02\/Branded-Hand.jpeg 750w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-288pinsker\/files\/2024\/02\/Branded-Hand-300x182.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">The branding of Jonathan Walker as a \u201cslave stealer\u201d fueled abolitionism in the 1840s (Anti-Slavery Bugle, 1845)<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Abolitionism<a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-117pinsker\/files\/2022\/10\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-10-at-1.54.51-PM.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-4547\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-117pinsker\/files\/2022\/10\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-10-at-1.54.51-PM-1024x495.png\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 940px) 100vw, 940px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-117pinsker\/files\/2022\/10\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-10-at-1.54.51-PM-1024x495.png 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-117pinsker\/files\/2022\/10\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-10-at-1.54.51-PM-300x145.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-117pinsker\/files\/2022\/10\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-10-at-1.54.51-PM-768x371.png 768w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-117pinsker\/files\/2022\/10\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-10-at-1.54.51-PM-1536x742.png 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-117pinsker\/files\/2022\/10\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-10-at-1.54.51-PM-500x241.png 500w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-117pinsker\/files\/2022\/10\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-10-at-1.54.51-PM.png 1814w\" alt=\"Liberator\" width=\"940\" height=\"454\" \/><\/a><\/h2>\n<p>\u201cI am aware, that many object to the severity of my language; but is there not cause for severity? I <em>will<\/em> be as harsh as truth, and as uncompromising as justice. On this subject, I do not wish to think, or speak, or write, with moderation. No! no! Tell a man whose house is on fire, to give a moderate alarm; tell him to moderately rescue his wife from the hand of the ravisher; tell the mother to gradually extricate her babe from the fire into which it has fallen; &#8212; but urge me not to use moderation in a cause like the present. I am in earnest &#8212; I will not equivocate &#8212; I will not excuse &#8212; I will not retreat a single inch &#8212; AND I WILL BE HEARD. The apathy of the people is enough to make every statue leap from its pedestal, and to hasten the resurrection of the dead.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;From the inaugural issue of <em>The Liberator <\/em>(Boston), January 1, 1831, \u201cTo the Public\u201d by William Lloyd Garrison<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-288pinsker\/files\/2024\/02\/Screen-Shot-2024-02-06-at-12.57.08-PM.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2736\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-288pinsker\/files\/2024\/02\/Screen-Shot-2024-02-06-at-12.57.08-PM.png\" alt=\"Abolitionists\" width=\"1514\" height=\"422\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-288pinsker\/files\/2024\/02\/Screen-Shot-2024-02-06-at-12.57.08-PM.png 1514w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-288pinsker\/files\/2024\/02\/Screen-Shot-2024-02-06-at-12.57.08-PM-300x84.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-288pinsker\/files\/2024\/02\/Screen-Shot-2024-02-06-at-12.57.08-PM-1024x285.png 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-288pinsker\/files\/2024\/02\/Screen-Shot-2024-02-06-at-12.57.08-PM-768x214.png 768w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-288pinsker\/files\/2024\/02\/Screen-Shot-2024-02-06-at-12.57.08-PM-900x251.png 900w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-288pinsker\/files\/2024\/02\/Screen-Shot-2024-02-06-at-12.57.08-PM-1280x357.png 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1514px) 100vw, 1514px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Evolution of Abolitionism<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>1780s: Northern (gradual) abolition societies and black mutual aid groups<\/li>\n<li>1817:\u00a0 American Colonization Society<\/li>\n<li>1833:\u00a0 American Anti-Slavery Society (Garrisonian)<\/li>\n<li>1830s: Vigilance committees<\/li>\n<li>1840:\u00a0 American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society (Anti-Garrisonian)<\/li>\n<li>1840: Liberty Party<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>UGRR Myths and Realities<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/ugrr\/files\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-21-at-10.56.16-AM.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-3042 size-large\" src=\"http:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/ugrr\/files\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-21-at-10.56.16-AM-1024x638.png\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 629px) 100vw, 629px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/ugrr\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/2\/files\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-21-at-10.56.16-AM-1024x638.png 1024w, https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/ugrr\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/2\/files\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-21-at-10.56.16-AM-300x187.png 300w, https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/ugrr\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/2\/files\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-21-at-10.56.16-AM-768x478.png 768w, https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/ugrr\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/2\/files\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-21-at-10.56.16-AM-900x561.png 900w, https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/ugrr\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/2\/files\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-21-at-10.56.16-AM-1280x797.png 1280w, https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/ugrr\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/2\/files\/2022\/11\/Screen-Shot-2022-11-21-at-10.56.16-AM.png 1448w\" alt=\"Cisterns\" width=\"629\" height=\"392\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3042\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-3042\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">LancasterHistory is currently preserving the cistern at the Thaddeus Stevens \u2013 Lydia Hamilton Smith historic site in Lancaster, Pennsylvania (<a href=\"https:\/\/chpartners.net\/2017\/08\/revealing-the-history-beneath-our-feet-the-stevens-and-smith-historic-site\/\">Community Heritage Partners<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Find out more about the forthcoming <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lancasterhistory.org\/places\/stevens-smith\/\">Stevens-Smith Center for History and Democracy<\/a><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Listen to the first commercially released recording of &#8220;Follow the Drinking Gourd,&#8221; performed in 1951 by The Weavers (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.followthedrinkinggourd.org\/Appendix_Recordings.htm\">courtesy of musicologist Joel Bresler<\/a>)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-2728-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/ugrr\/files\/2022\/11\/1-Weavers.GoodnightIrene.FollowTheDrinkingGourd.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/ugrr\/files\/2022\/11\/1-Weavers.GoodnightIrene.FollowTheDrinkingGourd.mp3\">http:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/ugrr\/files\/2022\/11\/1-Weavers.GoodnightIrene.FollowTheDrinkingGourd.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p><em><strong>And listen to Fergus Bordewich on UGRR myths:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-2728-2\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/ugrr\/files\/2022\/12\/Fergus-Bordewich-Excerpt.mp3?_=2\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/ugrr\/files\/2022\/12\/Fergus-Bordewich-Excerpt.mp3\">http:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/ugrr\/files\/2022\/12\/Fergus-Bordewich-Excerpt.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<h2><strong>Statistical Gateway<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Enslaved population in 1840: roughly 2 million<\/li>\n<li>Enslaved population in 1860: roughly 4 million<\/li>\n<li>Estimated number of antebellum slave sale transactions: 2 million<\/li>\n<li>Ratio of antebellum slave marriages broken apart by sale: \u00bc<\/li>\n<li>Annual temporary escapes from slavery (\u201claying out\u201d): 100,000<\/li>\n<li>Annual attempts at permanent escapes from slavery: 1,000<\/li>\n<li>Documented recaption (kidnapping) efforts across North during 1850s: 150<\/li>\n<li>Documented individual fugitive rendition cases\u00a0between 1850-1861: \u00a0200<\/li>\n<li>Total number of formal federal rendition hearings between 1850-1861: \u00a0125<\/li>\n<li>Number of rendition hearings in New England states after 1854: \u00a00<\/li>\n<li>Percentage of nation\u2019s rendition hearings held in Ohio 1855-1861: 75<\/li>\n<li>Vigilance committee records for successful escapes during 1850s:\u00a0 3,000+<\/li>\n<li>Documented vigilance-led resistance efforts during 1850s: \u00a080<\/li>\n<li>Total casualties from antebellum resistance efforts: \u00a0100s<\/li>\n<li>Number of UGRR operatives killed in free states: 0<\/li>\n<li>Number of freedom seekers killed in free states:\u00a0 1<\/li>\n<li>Number of slaveholders or slave catchers killed in free states:\u00a0 3<\/li>\n<li>Number of UGRR operatives fined or imprisoned in free states: \u00a0about 10-12<\/li>\n<li>People imprisoned for slave-stealing in South, 1840s-50s: 200+<\/li>\n<li>Longest sentence issued for UGRR conviction under federal law: \u00a03 months<\/li>\n<li>Longest imprisonment for UGRR operative in a slave state: \u00a017 years<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-288pinsker\/files\/2021\/09\/Handout-Defining-UGRR.pdf\">Handout &#8211;Defining UGRR<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/ugrr\/files\/2022\/08\/1842-Albany-Tocsin-reprint-UGRR.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1951 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/ugrr\/files\/2022\/08\/1842-Albany-Tocsin-reprint-UGRR.png\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 816px) 100vw, 816px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/ugrr\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/2\/files\/2022\/08\/1842-Albany-Tocsin-reprint-UGRR.png 816w, https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/ugrr\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/2\/files\/2022\/08\/1842-Albany-Tocsin-reprint-UGRR-300x123.png 300w, https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/ugrr\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/2\/files\/2022\/08\/1842-Albany-Tocsin-reprint-UGRR-768x314.png 768w\" alt=\"UGRR reference\" width=\"816\" height=\"334\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1951\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-1951\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">One of the earliest public references to the \u201cunderground railroad\u201d from the\u00a0<em>Albany Tocsin of Liberty<\/em>\u00a0in 1842, reprinted widely by other abolitionist newspapers that autumn (Chronicling America)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NPS UGRR Handbook Runaways gave abolition its most enduring issue, the fugitive slave controversy, and its most dynamic exponents, fugitive slave abolitionists. The impact of the abolitionist underground on national and even international politics is undeniable.&#8211;Manisha Sinha From the moment some states began abolishing slavery in the late 1700s to the moment slave states began [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":373,"featured_media":0,"parent":13,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2728","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-288pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2728","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-288pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-288pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-288pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/373"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-288pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2728"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-288pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2728\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-288pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-288pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}