Underground Railroad

US abolitionist network established in the North before the American Civil War to provide sanctuary and assistance for escaped African-American slaves. The informal system, established by abolitionists in defiance of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, used safe houses, transport facilities, and volunteers to lead the slaves to safety in the North and Canada.

The Underground Railroad was neither underground, nor a railroad. It was so named because it was secret, and because it helped transport people to freedom. Those involved used vocabulary involving trains: ‘stations’ were safe houses and ‘conductors’ were those who helped the slaves move on. The fugitives usually hid during the day and travelled by whatever means they could at night. Former slave Harriet Tubman and abolitionist Levi Coffin were two of the main leaders of the network.

After the Civil War, the extent and level of organization of the Underground Railroad became exaggerated, with popular stories of adventure and heroic deeds. Although thousands of fugitives secured their freedom by the Underground Railroad, the actual number is uncertain.