Morgan Freeman dramatically reads the story of a slave family's
escape to freedom by way of the Underground Railroad.
Most runaways were men whose ages ranged from 16 to 35
years. Similarly, women and children escaped. However, compared to men,
their numbers were small since they were more likely to be captured. Runaways
generally labored as field hands and were most likely to endure harsh treatment
from their owners. Men and women escaped for some of the same reasons -
long, grueling hours of fieldwork, the lack of proper diet, the fear of
beatings, and the horror of being sold away from loved ones. Urban bondsmen
sometimes fared better than their plantation fellows since most of them
worked as hired hands and personal servants. Still, masters offered them
little or no pay, restricted their movement, and provided them poor living
conditions. Although these inhumane conditions inspired some to flee, the
desire for personal liberty played a leading part in causing most bonded
men and women to flee (Franklin 1988: 169; Meier and Rudwick: 1976; White
1991: 106-07). Examples of this are found in several autobiographies written
by former bondsmen. In 1835, James L. Bradley, for instance, tenderly recalled
his yearning for freedom when he wrote:
From the time I was fourteen years old, I used to think
a great deal about freedom. It was my heart's desire; I could not keep
it out of my mind. Many a sleepless night I have spent in tears, because
I was a slave. . . . My heart ached to feel within me the life of liberty.
(Blassingame 1977: 688)
In his Life and Times, Frederick Douglass echoed the same
sentiment:
I hated slavery always, and my desire for freedom needed
only a favorable breeze to fan it to a blaze at any moment. The thought
of being a creature of the present and the past troubled me, and I longed
to have a future þ a future with hope in it.
(Douglass 1962; 1892: 156).
Flight sometimes entailed clever disguises, which gave
further protection to the runaway. For example, females dressed as males
and males disguised as females; or fair-skinned African Americans passed
as Whites; and others pretended to deliver messages or goods for their
masters. Although most disguises were rather simple, some runaways like
Ellen and William Craft of Georgia plotted brilliant plans of escape by
masquerading as master and slave. Frederick Douglass used ingenuity by
posing as a sailor while making his escape from Maryland to New York. Henry
"Box" Brown, with the assistance of underground agents, went
as far as to ship himself by train in a crate from Richmond to Philadelphia
(Haskins 1993: 94; Blassingame 1979: 200; William Still 1872: 67-73).
Underground activity flourished during the 1840s as antislavery
sentiment deepened due to the federal government's failure to settle the
slavery controversy. As northern and southern leaders refused to negotiate
on the issue, Congress had attempted to solve the problem by ratifying
the Missouri Compromise in 1820 that prohibited slavery in newly acquired
territories and states. Following the Mexican War in 1848, however, the
debate intensified as southern landowners sought to extend their plantation
economy westward. Abolitionists nevertheless continued to assist runaways
and flaunted their activity as a way to win added support for the antislavery
movement. The operations of the underground seemed even more apparent after
the Supreme Court announced in the case Prigg v. Pennsylvania (1842) that
federal law did not require that state officials aid in the return of runaways.
This ruling rendered by the court caused an uproar in the South.
In an attempt to reconcile sectional differences, Congress
passed the Compromise of 1850 that included a revised Fugitive Slave Law.
The measure declared the return of runaways, and proclaimed that federal
and state officials as well as private citizens had to assist in their
capture. With these restrictions, northern states were no longer considered
safe havens for runaways, and the law even jeopardized the status of freedmen.
Significantly, the Fugitive Slave Law enticed corrupt slave catchers to
kidnap free African Americans and sell them into bondage for a hefty profit.
A classic example of this is retold in the memoirs of Solomon Northup who
fell victim to a notorious kidnapping ring in New York (Northup 1853; Eakin
1990). Escape destinations thus were no longer limited to the territories
and northern states. Major urban centers that were safe places of refuge
became increasingly dangerous for runaways. Railways were extended into
Canadian cities and towns like Dresden, North Buxaton, St. Catharines,
Windsor, and Chatham that operated as major termini for the underground.
Similarly, bondsmen who fled from Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas usually
took refuge in Mexico, while those who were enslaved in the lower southeastern
coastal areas absconded into the Caribbean. Although the Fugitive Slave
Law threatened its operations, the Underground Railroad continued to provide
assistance to refugees.
By the end of the 1850s, the slavery controversy continued
to split the nation further apart as the North and South refused to agree
on a solution. Regional differences over slavery mounted as significant
events like the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the Dred Scott case in 1857, the publication
of Harriet Beecher Stowe's renowned literary work, Uncle Tom's Cabin, and
the faile Harper's Ferry insurrection devised by John Brown helped precipitate
the nation into a civil war by 1861. While the Civil War captured the attention
of the country, underground activity continued as thousands of enslaved
African Americans deserted plantations and cities and took refuge within
Union lines. With the help of more than 180,000 African American soldiers
and spies, Union forces secured victory over the Confederacy in 1865. Immediately
following the war, the necessity for underground activities ceased when
the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution officially liberated
more than 4 million enslaved African Americans.
For the most part, no national organization of the underground
existed since "leadership in it was reached by individual performance
and examples, not by election or appointment" (Breyfogle 1958: 173-74).
In spite of this, "there was a semblance of underground railroad activity
in certain localities" (Gara 1961: 18). Underground operations generally
relied heavily on secret codes as railroad jargon alerted "passengers"
when travel was safe. Runaways usually commuted either alone or in small
groups, and were frequently assisted by African American and White "conductors"
who risked their lives and property to escort refugees to freedom. Celebrated
conductors of the Underground Railroad included James Fairfield, a White
abolitionist who went into the Deep South and rescued enslaved African
Americans by posing as a slave trader. In 1849, Harriet Tubman escaped
from the Eastern Shore of Maryland and became known as "Moses"
to her people when she made 19 trips to the South and helped deliver at
least 300 fellow captives and loved ones to liberation. African American
abolitionist John Parker of Ripley, Ohio, frequently ventured to Kentucky
and Virginia and helped transport by boat hundreds of runaways across the
Ohio River. Perhaps the closest the underground came to being formally
organized was during the 1830s when African American abolitionists William
Still, Robert Purvis, David Ruggles, and others organized and stationed
vigilance committees throughout the North to help bondsmen to freedom.
The intention of the vigilance committees was not to lure or personally
guide runaways to freedom, but to offer whatever assistance they needed
to reach their destinations.
Runaways seldom devised any elaborate escape plan since
flight occurred randomly. Their schemes sometimes called for escapes to
take place on the weekends, holidays, or during harvest season. Plans of
this nature gave the runaway at least a two-day start before authorities
began their pursuit. Some spiritual songs such as "Swing Low, Sweet
Chariot," "Steal Away to Jesus," and "Go Down Moses"
carried coded messages related to escape. Runaways had little food or clothing
and normally walked at nightfall and rested during the daytime. Often refugees
faced the risks of natural disasters and personal betrayal such as being
sold back into slavery. Since runaways were virtually on their own and
underground railways rarely began in the South, the North Star occasionally
directed the flight. On clouded evenings, tree moss, which grew on the
north side of tree trunks, then served as a guide. Runaways refrained from
using conventional roads patrolled by slave catchers. To avoid capture,
they relied on "railways" such as backroads, waterways, mountains,
swamps, forests, and fields to escape. Later, runaways sometimes traveled
by wagon, steamship, boat, and railroad train.
During the exodus, refugees received food, shelter, and
money at "stations," which were operated by anyone who offered
assistance. They regularly rested at stations conducted by abolitionists
like Jermaine W. Loguen, William Still, Levi Coffin, and Thomas Garrett.
These shelters were normally found about 10 to 30 miles apart on northbound
"railways" (Franklin 1988: 169; Gara 1961; 94). As one source
claimed, "that was the distance a healthy man could travel on foot,
or a wagon carrying several slaves could cover at night" (Haskins
1993: 15). Some operators notified runaways of the stations through inconspicuous
signals such as a brightly lit candle in a window or by a shimmering lantern
strategically positioned in the frontyard. Once safety was ensured, the
temporary havens provided refugees rest in concealed rooms, attics, and
cellars. When stations were not readily available, runaways took protection
in caves, swamps, hills, and trenches.
