Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by
19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid
of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. [2] The term is also applied to
the abolitionists, both black and white, free and enslaved, who aided the fugitives. [3] Other
various routes led to Mexico or overseas.[4] Created in the early 19th century, the Underground
Railroad was at its height between 1850 and 1860. [5] One estimate suggests that by 1850,
100,000 slaves had escaped via the "Railroad". [5] British North America, where slavery was
prohibited, was a popular destination, as its long border gave many points of access. More
than 30,000 people were said to have escaped there via the network at its peak, [6] although
U.S. Census figures account for only 6,000.[7] The Underground Railroad fugitives' stories are
documented in the Underground Railroad Records.

Route

To reduce the risk of infiltration, many people associated with the Underground
Railroad knew only their part of the operation and not of the whole scheme. There were
the "conductors" who ultimately moved the runaways from station to station. The
"conductor" would sometimes pretend to be a slave to enter a plantation. Once a part of
a plantation, the "conductor" would direct the runaways to the North. Slaves would
travel at night, about 10–20 miles (15–30 km) to each station. They would stop at the
so-called "stations" or "depots" during the day and rest. The stations were out of the
way places like barns. While resting at one station, a message was sent to the next
station to let the station master know the runaways were on their way.

The resting spots where the runaways could sleep and eat were given the code names
"stations" and "depots" which were held by “station masters”. There were also those
known as “stockholders” who
Traveling conditions

Eastman Johnson, "A Ride for Liberty – The Fugitive Slaves", oil on paperboard, 22 x 26.25
inches, circa 1862, Brooklyn Museum

Although the fugitives sometimes traveled on boat or train,[13] they usually traveled on
foot or by wagon.

Routes were often purposely indirect to confuse pursuers. Most escapes were by
individuals or small groups; occasionally, there were mass escapes, such as with the
Pearl incident. The journey was often considered too difficult and dangerous for women
or children.

Due to the risk of discovery, information about routes and safe havens was passed along
by word of mouth. Southern newspapers of the day were often filled with pages of
notices soliciting information about escaped slaves and offering sizable rewards for
their capture and return. Federal marshals and professional bounty hunters known as
slave catchers pursued fugitives as far as the Canadian border.[14]

The risk was not limited solely to actual fugitives. Because strong, healthy blacks in
their prime working and reproductive years were seen and treated as highly valuable
commodities, it was not unusual for free blacks—both freedmen (former slaves) and
those who had never been slaves—to be kidnapped and sold into slavery. "Certificates
of freedom"—signed, notarized statements attesting to the free status of individual
blacks—could easily be destroyed and thus afforded their holders little protection.
Under the terms of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, when suspected fugitives were
seized and brought to a special magistrate known as a commissioner, they had no right
to a jury trial and could not testify in their own behalf. Technically, they were guilty of
no crime. The marshal or private slave-catcher needed only to swear an oath to acquire a
writ of replevin for the return of property.

Congress, dominated by the numbers of southern Congressmen elected because slaves

were counted into total population, had passed the fugitive slave law because of public
sympathy for the fugitives and the lack of cooperation by the police, courts, and public
outside the Deep South. In some parts of the North, slave-catchers needed police
protection to exercise their federal authority. Despite their resistance to pro-slavery
laws, several states made free blacks unwelcome. Indiana, whose area along the Ohio
was settled by Southerners, passed a constitutional amendment that barred blacks from
settling in that state
Terminology

Members of The Underground Railroad often used specific jargon, based on the
metaphor of the railway. For example:

 People who helped slaves find the railroad were "agents" (or "shepherds")
 Guides were known as "conductors"
 Hiding places were "stations"
 "Station masters" hid slaves in their homes
 Escaped slaves were referred to as "passengers" or "cargo"
 Slaves would obtain a "ticket"
 Similar to common gospel lore, the "wheels would keep on turning"
 Financial benefactors of the Railroad were known as "stockholders". [

History

"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" was first written by Wallis Willis, a Choctaw freedman in
the old Indian Territory, sometime before 1862. He was inspired by the Red River,
which reminded him of the Jordan River and of the Prophet Elijah's being taken to
heaven by a chariot (2 Kings 2:11). Many sources (see Songs of the underground
railroad) claim that this song and "Steal Away"—also composed by Willis—had lyrics
that referred to the Underground Railroad, the resistance movement that helped slaves
escape from the South to the North and Canada.

Alexander Reid, a minister at a Choctaw boarding school, heard Willis singing these
two songs and transcribed the words and melodies. He sent the music to the Jubilee
Singers of Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. The Jubilee Singers popularized the
songs during a tour of the United States and Europe.

The song enjoyed a resurgence during the 1960s Civil Rights struggle and the folk
revival; it was performed by a number of artists. Perhaps the most famous performance
during this period was that by Joan Baez during the legendary 1969 Woodstock festival.

John Coltrane has a song titled "Song of the Underground Railroad" on his album Africa/Brass.
Swing low, sweet chariot

Swing low, sweet chariot

Coming for to carry me home,
Swing low, sweet chariot,
Coming for to carry me home.

I looked over Jordan, and what did I see

Coming for to carry me home?
A band of angels coming after me,
Coming for to carry me home.

Chorus

Sometimes I'm up, and sometimes I'm down,

(Coming for to carry me home)
But still my soul feels heavenly bound.
(Coming for to carry me home)

Chorus

The brightest day that I can say,

(Coming for to carry me home)
When Jesus washed my sins away.
(Coming for to carry me home)

Chorus

If I get there before you do,

(Coming for to carry me home)
I'll cut a hole and pull you through.
(Coming for to carry me home)

Chorus

If you get there before I do,

(Coming for to carry me home)
Tell all my friends I'm coming too.
(Coming for to carry me home)

Chorus "chorus