The site is located on 26 acres of land in Auburn, New York, and is owned and operated by the AME Zion Church. It includes four buildings, two of which were used by Harriet Tubman. Ashtabula County had over thirty known Underground Railroad stations, or safehouses, and many more conductors.
Where was the Underground Railroad located?
- The Underground Railroad was a network of secret routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early to mid-19th century, and used by African- American slaves to escape into free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. However, the network now generally known as the Underground Railroad was formed in the late 1700s, ran north to the free states and Canada, and reached its height between 1850 and 1860.
What states had Underground Railroad?
Most of the enslaved people helped by the Underground Railroad escaped border states such as Kentucky, Virginia and Maryland. In the deep South, the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 made capturing escaped enslaved people a lucrative business, and there were fewer hiding places for them.
What were the Underground Railroad routes?
During the era of slavery, the Underground Railroad was a network of routes, places, and people that helped enslaved people in the American South escape to the North.
How many Underground Railroad routes were there?
There were four main routes that the enslaved could follow: North along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers to the northern United States and Canada; South to Florida and refuge with the Seminole Indians and to the Bahamas; West along the Gulf of Mexico and into Mexico; and East along the seaboard into Canada.
Does The Underground Railroad still exist?
It includes four buildings, two of which were used by Harriet Tubman. Ashtabula County had over thirty known Underground Railroad stations, or safehouses, and many more conductors. Nearly two-thirds of those sites still stand today.
Were there tunnels in The Underground Railroad?
Contrary to popular belief, the Underground Railroad was not a series of underground tunnels. While some people did have secret rooms in their houses or carriages, the vast majority of the Underground Railroad involved people secretly helping people running away from slavery however they could.
How far north did the Underground Railroad go?
Because it was dangerous to be in free states like Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, or even Massachusetts after 1850, most people hoping to escape traveled all the way to Canada. So, you could say that the Underground Railroad went from the American south to Canada.
How many slaves were freed through the Underground Railroad?
According to some estimates, between 1810 and 1850, the Underground Railroad helped to guide one hundred thousand enslaved people to freedom.
How many slaves did Harriet Tubman save?
Fact: According to Tubman’s own words, and extensive documentation on her rescue missions, we know that she rescued about 70 people —family and friends—during approximately 13 trips to Maryland.
Can you take a tour of the Underground Railroad?
Schedule Your Visit Our adjusted hours of operations are Tuesday through Sunday from 10am to 4pm (EST). Learn more about what you can see and do at the visitor center, and explore the stories of Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad!
Is the Underground Railroad really underground?
So yeah, everything about the “real” Underground Railroad in The Underground Railroad is false. In fact, the first underground train — the London Underground, or Tube — wasn’t built until 1863. That’s not only well into the timeline of America’s own Civil War, but in a nation an ocean away from Cora.
The Underground Railroad Route
Students will learn how to distinguish between slave states and free states during the time of the Underground Railroad, as well as the difficulties of escaping and choosing the path they would have chosen. Geography, Human Geography, and Physical Geography are the subjects covered. Students should be able to distinguish between slave and free states throughout the time of the Underground Railroad. Each pupil should be given a copy of the map titled “Routes to Freedom.” Inform pupils that the Underground Railroad aided enslaved individuals as they traveled from the South to the North during the American Civil War.
Afterwards, instruct pupils to locate each slave state on the map as you pronounce its name:
- Alabama
- sArkansas
- sDelaware
- sFlorida
- sGeorgia
- sKentucky
- sLouisiana
- sMaryland
- sMississippi
- sMissouri
- sMontana This state does not display on the map since it is not included in the list. Make use of a wall map of the United States to instruct children on where Montana is located.) North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia are among the states represented.
Explain to pupils that enslaved individuals did not have access to maps, compasses, or GPS systems throughout their time in slavery. The majority of enslaved individuals were never permitted to get an education, and as a result, they were unable to read or write. Consider the following question: How do you suppose enslaved people knew they were heading in the correct direction? Students should be informed that enslaved individuals resorted to guides on the Underground Railroad, as well as memory, visuals, and spoken communication to survive.
- Talk about the difficulties you’ve encountered on your path.
- Instruct pupils to examine the map and make note of any physical characteristics of the region that made the voyage challenging.
- In order to demonstrate proper shading techniques, students should go to Alabama, then northeast via Maine and into Canada to see how the Applachian Mountains are shaded.
- Ask:Can you think of anything else that made the travel difficult?
- In the winter, being cold and outdoors
- Not having enough food
- Being exhausted yet unable to relax
- Having to swim or traverse bodies of water
- Having to travel great distances
- Evading or avoiding people or animals
3. Ask pupils to identify the route they would have chosen if they were in their shoes. Students should be divided into small groups. Ask each group to look at the map and choose the route they would have gone to freedom if they had been able to do so. Students should choose their selections based on the states, rivers, and mountain ranges that they would have to cover on their journey. Ask each group to describe the path they would have followed and why they would have done so.
Informal Assessment
Have pupils determine which option they would have followed if they had been in their position. Make small groups of pupils out of the class. Ask each group to look at the map and choose the path they would have followed if they had been able to flee to safety.
Choose the states, rivers, and mountain ranges that they will have to cover based on the distance they are willing to travel. Each group should outline the path they would have followed and why they would have done so.
Learning Objectives
Students will be able to:
- The following will be accomplished by the students :
Teaching Approach
- The following will be accomplished by students:
What You’ll Need
- Highlighters, paper, pencils, and pens, as well as a wall map of the United States
Required Technology
- Internet access is optional
- Technological setup includes one computer per classroom and a projector.
Physical Space
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Writer
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Editor
Christina Riska Simmons is a model and actress.
Educator Reviewer
Jessica Wallace-Weaver is a certified educational consultant.
Sources
- Based on the National Geographic Xpeditions lesson “Finding Your Way: The Underground Railroad,” this activity was created. Permissions Granted to Users Users’ permissions are detailed in our Terms of Service, which you can see by clicking here. Alternatively, if you have any issues regarding how to reference something from our website in your project or classroom presentation, please speak with your instructor. They will be the most knowledgeable about the selected format. When you contact them, you will need to provide them with the page title, URL, and the date on which you visited the item.
Media
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Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad was a network of people, both black and white, who helped escaped enslaved persons from the southern United States by providing them with refuge and assistance. It came forth as a result of the convergence of numerous separate covert initiatives. Although the exact dates of its inception are unknown, it was active from the late 18th century until the Civil War, after which its attempts to weaken the Confederacy were carried out in a less-secretive manner until the Civil War ended.
Quaker Abolitionists
The Society of Friends (Quakers) is often regarded as the first organized group to actively assist escaped enslaved persons. In 1786, George Washington expressed dissatisfaction with Quakers for attempting to “liberate” one of his enslaved servants. Abolitionist and Quaker Isaac T. Hopper established a network in Philadelphia in the early 1800s to assist enslaved persons who were on the run from slavery. Abolitionist organisations founded by Quakers in North Carolina lay the basis for escape routes and safe havens for fugitive slaves during the same time period.
What Was the Underground Railroad?
The Underground Railroad was first mentioned in 1831, when an enslaved man named Tice Davids managed to escape from Kentucky into Ohio and his master blamed a “underground railroad” for assisting Davids in his liberation. When a fugitive slave called Jim was apprehended in 1839 in Washington, the press said that the guy confessed his plan to travel north along a “underground railroad to Boston” while under torture. The Vigilance Committees, which were established in New York in 1835 and Philadelphia in 1838 to safeguard escaped enslaved persons from bounty hunters, rapidly expanded their duties to include guiding enslaved individuals on the run.
By the 1840s, the phrase “Underground Railroad” had become part of the common lexicon in the United States. MORE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND AT: Harriet Tubman and her fellow fugitives used the following strategies to escape through the Underground Railroad:
How the Underground Railroad Worked
The majority of enslaved persons aided by the Underground Railroad were able to flee to neighboring states like as Kentucky, Virginia, and Maryland. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 made catching fugitive enslaved persons a lucrative industry in the deep South, and there were fewer hiding places for them as a result of the Act. The majority of fugitive enslaved people were on their own until they reached specific places farther north. The escaping enslaved people were escorted by individuals known as “conductors.” Private residences, churches, and schools were also used as hiding places throughout the war.
The personnel in charge of running them were referred to as “stationmasters.” There were several well-traveled roads that ran west through Ohio and into Indiana and Iowa.
More information may be found at The Little-Known Underground Railroad That Ran South to Mexico.
Fugitive Slave Acts
Those enslaved persons who were assisted by the Underground Railroad were primarily from border states like as Kentucky, Virginia, and Maryland (see map below). Fugitive slave capture became a lucrative industry in the deep South after the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, and there were fewer hiding places for escaped slaves as a result. Refugee enslaved persons usually had to fend for themselves until they reached specified northern locations. In the runaway enslaved people’s journey, they were escorted by people known as “conductors.” Private residences, churches, and schools were among the hiding spots.
Stationmasters were the individuals in charge of running them.
Others traveled north via Pennsylvania and into New England, while others passed through Detroit on their route to the Canadian border.
Harriet Tubman
Those enslaved individuals who were assisted by the Underground Railroad were mostly from border states like as Kentucky, Virginia, and Maryland. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 made catching fugitive enslaved persons a lucrative industry in the deep South, and there were fewer hiding places for them as a result. The majority of fugitive enslaved individuals were on their own until they reached specific northern regions. The escaping enslaved people were escorted by persons known as “conductors.” Private residences, churches, and schools were used as hiding places.
Stationmasters were the personnel in charge of running them.
There were several well-traveled roads that ran west through Ohio, into Indiana and Iowa. Others traveled north via Pennsylvania and into New England, or through Detroit on their route to Canada. READ MORE: The Little-Known Underground Railroad That Connected the United States and Mexico
Frederick Douglass
In his house in Rochester, New York, former enslaved person and celebrated author Frederick Douglasshid fugitives who were assisting 400 escapees in their journey to freedom in Canada. Reverend Jermain Loguen, a former fugitive who lived in the adjacent city of Syracuse, assisted 1,500 escapees on their journey north. The Vigilance Committee was established in Philadelphia in 1838 by Robert Purvis, an escaped enslaved person who later became a trader. Josiah Henson, a former enslaved person and railroad operator, founded the Dawn Institute in Ontario in 1842 to assist fugitive slaves who made their way to Canada in learning the necessary skills to find work.
Agent,” according to the document.
John Parker was a free Black man living in Ohio who worked as a foundry owner and who used his rowboat to ferry fugitives over the Ohio River.
William Still was a notable Philadelphia citizen who was born in New Jersey to runaway slaves parents who fled to Philadelphia as children.
Who Ran the Underground Railroad?
The vast majority of Underground Railroad operators were regular individuals, including farmers and business owners, as well as preachers and religious leaders. Some affluent individuals were active, including Gerrit Smith, a billionaire who stood for president on two separate occasions. Smith acquired a full family of enslaved people from Kentucky in 1841 and freed them from their captivity. Levi Coffin, a Quaker from North Carolina, is credited with being one of the first recorded individuals to assist escaped enslaved persons.
Coffin stated that he had discovered their hiding spots and had sought them out in order to assist them in moving forward.
Coffin eventually relocated to Indiana and then Ohio, where he continued to assist fugitive enslaved individuals no matter where he was.
John Brown
Abolitionist John Brown worked as a conductor on the Underground Railroad, and it was at this time that he founded the League of Gileadites, which was dedicated to assisting fleeing enslaved individuals in their journey to Canada. Abolitionist John Brown would go on to play a variety of roles during his life. His most well-known duty was conducting an assault on Harper’s Ferry in order to raise an armed army that would march into the deep south and free enslaved people at gunpoint. Ultimately, Brown’s forces were beaten, and he was executed for treason in 1859.
- The year 1844, he formed a partnership with Vermont schoolteacher Delia Webster, and the two were jailed for assisting an escaped enslaved lady and her young daughter.
- Charles Torrey was sentenced to six years in jail in Maryland for assisting an enslaved family in their attempt to flee through Virginia.
- After being apprehended in 1844 while transporting a boatload of freed slaves from the Caribbean to the United States, Massachusetts sea captain Jonathan Walker was sentenced to prison for life.
- John Fairfield of Virginia turned down the opportunity to assist in the rescue of enslaved individuals who had been left behind by their families as they made their way north.
Fairfield’s strategy was to go around the southern United States appearing as a slave broker. He managed to elude capture twice. He died in 1860 in Tennessee, during the American Reconstruction Era.
End of the Line
Operation of the Underground Railroad came to an end in 1863, during the American Civil War. In actuality, its work was shifted aboveground as part of the Union’s overall campaign against the Confederate States of America. Once again, Harriet Tubman made a crucial contribution by organizing intelligence operations and serving as a commanding officer in Union Army efforts to rescue the liberated enslaved people who had been freed. MORE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND AT: Harriet Tubman led a daring Civil War raid after the Underground Railroad was shut down.
Sources
Bound for Canaan: The Epic Story of the Underground Railroad is a book about the Underground Railroad. Fergus Bordewich is a Scottish actor. A Biography of Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom Catherine Clinton is the first lady of the United States. Who Exactly Was in Charge of the Underground Railroad? ‘Henry Louis Gates’ is a pseudonym for Henry Louis Gates. The Underground Railroad’s History in New York is a little known fact. The Smithsonian Institution’s magazine. The Underground Railroad’s Dangerous Allure is well documented.
Places of the Underground Railroad (U.S. National Park Service)
A map of the United States depicting the many paths that freedom seekers might follow in order to attain freedom. NPS provided the image. When enslaved African Americans attempted to obtain their escape via the use of an underground railroad network of routes, safehouses, and resources distributed across the country, they were referred to as “fugitives from justice.” This attempt was frequently spontaneous, with enslaved persons setting off on their quest to liberation on their own initiative.
During the 1820s and 1830s, the United States experienced a surge in the number of people who sought independence from oppression.
In certain instances, the choice to aid a freedom seeking may have been a result of a spur of the moment decision.
Origins of the Underground Railroad
a map of the United States depicting the many pathways that freedom seekers might travel in order to achieve their goals The National Park Service provided this photograph. When enslaved African Americans attempted to obtain their freedom via the use of an underground railroad network of routes, safehouses, and resources dispersed across the country, they were referred to as “fugitives.” In many cases, this was a spontaneous endeavor, with enslaved persons starting their trek to liberation on their own initiative.
A greater effort was made in the United States to help freedom seekers in the 1820s and 1830s.
Occasionally, the choice to support a freedom seeker may have arisen as a result of a spontaneous impulse. When the Underground Railroad was intentional and planned, as it was following the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850, it was a successful strategy.
The Role of Women in the Underground Railroad
A large number of women were involved in the Underground Railroad. Harriet Tubman was one of the most well-known Underground Railroad conductors, having undertaken more than a dozen excursions into slave-holding states to assist oppressed persons in their journey to freedom. Despite the fact that Tubman had several hiding places, oral histories indicate that she regularly stopped at the Bethel AME Church in Greenwich Township, New Jersey, to rest. Freedom seekers traveling north from Maryland’s Eastern Shore and Delaware were accommodated in the church, which was located in the center of the Black village of Springtown.
- One of her most well-known routes was through Delaware, which led north.
- CC BY-SA 4.0 license, photo by Historic Newton.
- Mary Jackson and her family, who lived in Massachusetts at the time, donated their farm as a safe haven for anyone fleeing slavery through the Underground Railroad.
- Ellen was instrumental in the establishment of the Freedman’s Aid Society in Newton in 1865.
- Dr.
- Photo by Jim Roberts, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
- Due to the fact that the Underground Railroad was made up of a loose network of persons – both enslaved and free – there is little evidence on how it functioned and who was involved.
- When she blogged about her experiences hosting freedom seekers at their home, she received a lot of positive feedback.
- Nathan Thomas House in Schoolcraft, Michigan.
Legacy of the Underground Railroad
There were a lot of women involved in the Underground Railroad movement. Her journeys into slaveholding states to assist enslaved individuals to freedom are among the most well-known of the Underground Railroad’s conductors, including Harriet Tubman, one of the most renowned. Even though Tubman had several hiding places, oral histories indicate that she visited the Bethel AME Church in Greenwich Township, New Jersey on a regular basis. The chapel, which was located in the center of the Black village of Springtown, served as a stopover for freedom seekers traveling north after leaving Maryland’s Eastern Shore and Delaware.
It was one of her most well-known routes, which led north via Delaware.
CC BY-SA 4.0 license, photo by Historic Newton A significant role was also played by white women, such as the Jacksons, in providing assistance to freedom seekers.
Several aspects of their activities were documented by Ellen’s daughter, who wrote that “the Homestead’s doors were always open with a welcome to any of the workers against slavery, for however frequently and for as long as suited their convenience or pleasure.” Despite the death of Mary’s husband, William, in 1855, she and her daughters continued to be active members of the community.
Until her death in 1902, she served as its president.
Nathan Thomas House is a medical doctor that practices in the city of Philadelphia.
Emancipation and the abolition of the Underground Railroad came as a result of the Civil War’s end.
When she blogged about her experience hosting freedom seekers at their home, she received a lot of positive feedback from readers. Pam and her family provided assistance to around 1,000 to 1,500 freedom seekers at the Dr. Nathan Thomas House in Schoolcraft, Michigan.
What was the Underground Railroad? : Harriet Tubman
The Underground Railroad was established in the early nineteenth century and reached its zenith between 1850 and 1860, when it was at its most active. It’s possible that reliable numbers on fleeing slaves who used the Underground Railroad may never be discovered because so much of what we know now comes from narratives written after the Civil War. Between 1810 and 1860, it is estimated that over 100,000 slaves managed to escape using the network. In the upper south, the bulk of slaves were transported from slave states that bordered free states such as Kentucky, Virginia, and Maryland; very few slaves were transported from the Deep South.
Various Underground Railroad routes were discovered.
Why was it called Underground Railroad?
Beginning in the early nineteenth century and reaching its zenith between 1850 and 1860, the Underground Railroad was a network of routes for escaping slaves. Much of what we know now comes from narratives written after the Civil War, and it is possible that reliable data on fleeing slaves who used the Underground Railroad will never be discovered. Between 1810 and 1860, it is estimated that around 100,000 slaves escaped using the network. Only a small number of slaves managed to escape from the Deep South, which was mostly composed of slave states bordering free states such as Kentucky, Virginia, and Maryland.
Various Underground Railroad routes were identified.
Organization
With no clearly defined routes, the Underground Railway was a loosely structured network of linkages rather than a well-organized network of connections. They assisted slaves in their journey to freedom by providing them with housing and transportation. Small groups of supporters were formed independently; the majority of them were familiar with a few connecting stations but were unfamiliar with the complete trip. This technique maintained the confidentiality of those participating while also reducing the likelihood of infiltration.
There was no one path, and there were most likely a number of them.
These locations are listed on the website of the National Park Service.
The majority of them traveled on foot and hid in barns or other out-of-the-way locations such as basements and cupboards.
In major cities such as Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, committees were created to address the issue. These committees generated cash to assist fugitives in resettling by providing them with temporary lodging and employment referrals.
Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
With no clearly defined lines, the Underground Railway was a loosely structured network of links rather than a traditional railway system. They assisted slaves in their journey to freedom by providing them with housing and transportation assistance. Independently formed small groups of supporters who were all familiar with a few connecting stations but not the complete trip. Infiltrations were less likely to occur because of the concealment afforded by this approach. Routes were frequently detoured in order to throw slave catchers off their scent.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of homes throughout the northern United States were converted into railroad stops.
During the night, fugitives would go from one station to the next, traversing rivers, marshes, and trekking up mountains to get there.
In major cities such as Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, committees were created to oversee the process.
The end of the Underground Railroad
On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed slaves in the Confederate states of the United States of America. Following the war’s conclusion, the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified in 1865, thereby ending slavery in the whole United States and putting an end to the Underground Railroad’s operations throughout the country.
Supporters of the Underground Railroad
Black and white abolitionists, free blacks, Native Americans, and religious organizations such as the Religious Society of Friends, often known as Quakers and Congregationalists, were among those who sympathized with the network’s goals and objectives. It was the Quakers in Pennsylvania that issued the first demand for the abolition of slavery in the United States in 1688. Levi Coffin, William Still, Frederick Douglass, Thomas Garrett, Samuel Burris, William Lloyd Garrison, Sojourner Truth, Joh Brown, Anderson Ruffin Abbott, Henry Brown, Obadiah Bush, Asa Drury, Matilda Joslyn Gage, Samuel Green, Gerrit Smith, Lucretia Coffin Mott, and Jermain Loguen are just a few of the most well-known supporters of the Underground Railroad: Levi Coffin, William Still, Frederick More information on the history of the Underground Railroad may be found at the following websites.
From the National Park Service’s Freedom Sites Network The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is located in Washington, D.C.
Under the categories of “popular” and “underground railroad,”
Delaware Byways
The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway begins on Willow Grove Road in Kent County, where the Maryland Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway terminates. In Camden and Dover, the route passes through known Underground Railroad sites before continuing north on US 13, passing through Smyrna, and then continuing on Rte 15 to Middletown and Odessa.
It then follows Route 9 along the Delaware River to Wilmington, where it passes through 13 locations associated with the Underground Railroad. After then, it follows the Kennett Pike all the way to the state line between Delaware and Pennsylvania.
Length
The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway begins on Willow Grove Road in Kent County, where the Maryland Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway terminates. After going through Camden and Dover, the path continues north on US 13, via Smyrna, and on Rte 15 to Middletown and Odessa, where it meets up with the Underground Railroad again. It then travels along Route 9 along the Delaware River to Wilmington, where it passes by 13 Underground Railroad relics along the route. Afterwards, it travels along the Kennett Pike until it reaches the state line between Delaware and Pennsylvania.
Drive Time
It will take around 3 hours.
Full Enjoyment Time
Debbie Martin is the Executive Director of the Underground Railroad Coalition of Delaware Byway Management.
Corridor Management Plan
A comprehensive listing of this final report, including all appendices, maps, and instructions, may be found at the conclusion of this document. Preceding the American Civil War, African American Freedom Seekers sought refuge in the northern United States through a network of people and terrain that became known as the “Underground Railroad.” Delaware, as the final slave state, was a crucial stepping stone on the road to freedom. A group of “conductors,” including Harriet Tubman and others, led more than 3,000 Freedom Seekers through Delaware.
Harriettubmanbyway.org This Byway provides travelers with an alternate travel route through the state that is primarily south to north in direction, while also providing opportunity to learn about and experience Delaware’s Underground Railroad history by visiting the areas where this history took place.
Byway Video and Drive Tour
Maps and instructions are provided for a comprehensive listing of this final report, which includes all appendices. A combination of people and landscapes that became known as the “Underground Railroad” allowed African American Freedom Seekers to go north to freedom before the Civil War. Delaware, as the country’s final slave state, was a crucial stepping stone on the road to independence. More than 3,000 Freedom Seekers were guided through Delaware by Harriet Tubman and other “conductors.” Thomas Garrett, a Wilmington Quaker, had a significant impact on the creation of the Underground Railroad network in Delaware through the recruitment of members and the establishment of safe hiding places.
Underground Railroad
A comprehensive listing of this final report, including all appendices, maps, and instructions, may be found on the following page. A combination of people and landscapes that became known as the “Underground Railroad” let African American Freedom Seekers go north to freedom prior to the Civil War. Delaware, as the country’s final slave state, was a crucial stepping stone on the road to freedom. More than 3,000 Freedom Seekers were guided through Delaware by Harriet Tubman and other “conductors.” Thomas Garrett, a Wilmington Quaker, had a significant impact on the creation of the Underground Railroad network in Delaware through the organization of members and the establishment of safe areas.
Harriettubmanbyway.org It offers travelers an alternate travel path through the state that is primarily south to north in orientation, while also providing opportunity to learn about Delaware’s Underground Railroad history by visiting the areas where this history took place.
The True History Behind Amazon Prime’s ‘Underground Railroad’
If you want to know what this country is all about, I always say, you have to ride the rails,” the train’s conductor tells Cora, the fictitious protagonist of Colson Whitehead’s 2016 novelThe Underground Railroad, as she walks into a boxcar destined for the North. As you race through, take a look about you to see the genuine face of America.” Cora’s vision is limited to “just blackness, mile after mile,” according to Whitehead, as she peers through the carriage’s slats. In the course of her traumatic escape from servitude, the adolescent eventually understands that the conductor’s remark was “a joke.
- Cora and Caesar, a young man enslaved on the same Georgia plantation as her, are on their way to liberation when they encounter a dark other world in which they use the railroad to go to freedom.
- ” The Underground Railroad,” a ten-part limited series premiering this week on Amazon Prime Video, is directed by Moonlight filmmaker Barry Jenkins and is based on the renowned novel by Alfred North Whitehead.
- When it comes to portraying slavery, Jenkins takes a similar approach to Whitehead’s in the series’ source material.
- “And as a result, I believe their individuality has been preserved,” Jenkins says Felix.
- The consequences of their actions are being inflicted upon them.” Here’s all you need to know about the historical backdrop that informs both the novel and the streaming adaptation of “The Underground Railroad,” which will premiere on May 14th.
Did Colson Whitehead baseThe Underground Railroadon a true story?
“The reality of things,” in Whitehead’s own words, is what he aims to portray in his work, not “the facts.” His characters are entirely made up, and the story of the book, while based on historical facts, is told in an episodic style, as is the case with most episodic fiction. This book traces Cora’s trek to freedom, describing her lengthy trip from Georgia to the Carolinas, Tennessee and Indiana.) Each step of the journey presents a fresh set of hazards that are beyond Cora’s control, and many of the people she meets suffer horrible ends.) What distinguishes The Underground Railroad from previous works on the subject is its presentation of the titular network as a physical rather than a figurative transportation mechanism.
According to Whitehead, who spoke to NPR in 2016, this alteration was prompted by his “childhood belief” that the Underground Railroad was a “literal tunnel beneath the earth”—a misperception that is surprisingly widespread.
Webber Public domain image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons While the Underground Railroad was composed of “local networks of anti-slavery people,” both Black and white, according to Pulitzer Prize–winning historianEric Foner, the Underground Railroad actually consisted of “local networks of anti-slavery people, both Black and white, who assisted fugitives in various ways,” from raising funds for the abolitionist cause to taking cases to court to concealing runaways in safe houses.
Although the actual origins of the name are unknown, it was in widespread usage by the early 1840s.
Manisha Sinha, author of The Slave’s Cause: A History of Abolition, argues that the Underground Railroad should be referred to as the “Abolitionist Underground” rather than the “Underground Railroad” because the people who ran it “were not just ordinary, well-meaning Northern white citizens, activists, particularly in the free Black community,” she says.
As Foner points out, however, “the majority of the initiative, and the most of the danger, fell on the shoulders of African-Americans who were fleeing.” a portrait taken in 1894 of Harriet Jacobs, who managed to hide in an attic for nearly seven years after fleeing from slavery.
Public domain image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons “Recognizable historical events and patterns,” according to Foner, are used by Whitehead in a way that is akin to that of the late Toni Morrison.
According to Sinha, these effects may be seen throughout Cora’s journey.
According to Foner, author of the 2015 bookGateway to Freedom: The Hidden History of the Underground Railroad, “the more you know about this history, the more you can appreciate what Whitehead is doing in fusing the past and the present, or perhaps fusing the history of slavery with what happened after the end of slavery.”
What time period doesThe Underground Railroadcover?
Caesar (Aaron Pierre) and Cora (Thuso Mbedu) believe they’ve discovered a safe haven in South Carolina, but their new companions’ behaviors are based on a belief in white supremacy, as seen by their deeds. Kyle Kaplan is a producer at Amazon Studios. The Underground Railroad takes place around the year 1850, which coincides with the adoption of the Fugitive Slave Act. Runaways who had landed in free states were targeted by severe regulations, and those who supported them were subjected to heavy punishments.
In spite of the fact that it was intended to hinder the Underground Railroad, according to Foner and Sinha, the legislation actually galvanized—and radicalized—the abolitionist cause.
“Every time the individual switches to a different condition, the novel restarts,” the author explains in his introduction.
” Cora’s journey to freedom is replete with allusions to pivotal moments in post-emancipation history, ranging from the Tuskegee Syphilis Study in the mid-20th century to white mob attacks on prosperous Black communities in places like Wilmington, North Carolina (targeted in 1898), and Tulsa, Oklahoma (targeted in 1898).
According to Spencer Crew, former president of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and emeritus director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, this “chronological jumble” serves as a reminder that “the abolition of slavery does not herald the abolition of racism and racial attacks.” This problem has survived in many forms, with similar effects on the African American community,” says the author.
What real-life events doesThe Underground Railroaddramatize?
Though they believe they’ve discovered a safe haven in South Carolina, Caesar (Aaron Pierre) and Cora (Thuso Mbedu) soon discover that their newfound friends’ acts are motivated by a conviction in white supremacy. The Amazon Studios team, led by Kyle Kaplan, When the Fugitive Slave Act was passed in 1850, it was during this time that the Underground Railroad came into being. Runaways who had landed in free states were targeted by severe regulations, and those who supported them were subjected to heavy punishments.
According to Foner and Sinha, the measure, which was intended to hinder the Underground Railroad, instead galvanized—and radicalized—the abolitionist cause.
“Every time a character moves to a different state, the novel restarts,” the author noted in his introduction.
Cora’s journey to freedom is replete with allusions to pivotal events in post-emancipation history, ranging from the Tuskegee Syphilis Study in the mid-20th century to white mob attacks on prosperous Black communities in places like Wilmington, North Carolina (targeted in 1898), and Tulsa, Oklahoma (targeted in 1898).
According to Spencer Crew, former president of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and emeritus director of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, this “chronological jumble” serves as a reminder that “the abolition of slavery does not herald the abolition of racism and racial attacks.” These challenges continue to exist in various forms, with comparable consequences for the African-American community.
”
How doesThe Underground Railroadreflect the lived experience of slavery?
“How can I construct a psychologically plausible plantation?” Whitehead is said to have pondered himself while writing on the novel. According to theGuardian, the author decided to think about “people who have been tortured, brutalized, and dehumanized their whole lives” rather than depicting “a pop culture plantation where there’s one Uncle Tom and everyone is just incredibly nice to each other.” For the remainder of Whitehead’s statement, “Everyone will be battling for the one additional mouthful of food in the morning, fighting for the tiniest piece of property.” According to me, this makes sense: “If you put individuals together who have been raped and tortured, this is how they would behave.” Despite the fact that she was abandoned as a child by her mother, who appears to be the only enslaved person to successfully escape Ridgeway’s clutches, Cora lives in the Hob, a derelict building reserved for outcasts—”those who had been crippled by the overseers’ punishments,.
who had been broken by the labor in ways you could see and in ways you couldn’t see, who had lost their wits,” as Whitehead describes Cora is played by Mbedu (center).
With permission from Amazon Studios’ Atsushi Nishijima While attending a rare birthday party for an older enslaved man, Cora comes to the aid of an orphaned youngster who mistakenly spills some wine down the sleeve of their captor, prompting him to flee.
Cora agrees to accompany Caesar on his journey to freedom a few weeks later, having been driven beyond the threshold of endurance by her punishment and the bleakness of her ongoing life as a slave.
As a result, those who managed to flee faced the potential of severe punishment, he continues, “making it a perilous and risky option that individuals must choose with care.” By making Cora the central character of his novel, Whitehead addresses themes that especially plagued enslaved women, such as the fear of rape and the agony of carrying a child just to have the infant sold into captivity elsewhere.
The account of Cora’s sexual assault in the novel is heartbreakingly concise, with the words “The Hob ladies stitched her up” serving as the final word.
Although not every enslaved women was sexually assaulted or harassed, they were continuously under fear of being raped, mistreated, or harassed, according to the report.
With permission from Amazon Studios’ Atsushi Nishijima The novelist’s account of the Underground Railroad, according to Sinha, “gets to the core of how this venture was both tremendously courageous and terribly perilous.” She believes that conductors and runaways “may be deceived at any time, in situations that they had little control over.” Cora, on the other hand, succinctly captures the liminal state of escapees.
- “What a world it is.
- “Was she free of bondage or still caught in its web?” “Being free had nothing to do with shackles or how much room you had,” Cora says.
- The location seemed enormous despite its diminutive size.
- In his words, “If you have to talk about the penalty, I’d prefer to see it off-screen.” “It’s possible that I’ve been reading this for far too long, and as a result, I’m deeply wounded by it.
- view of it is that it feels a little bit superfluous to me.
- In his own words, “I recognized that my job was going to be coupling the brutality with its psychological effects—not shying away from the visual representation of these things, but focusing on what it meant to the people.” “Can you tell me how they’re fighting back?
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Celebrate Harriet Tubman Day by Exploring Philly’s Underground Railroad Sites
“How can I construct a psychologically plausible plantation?” Whitehead is said to have pondered himself while writing the novel. As he explained to theGuardian, rather of portraying “a pop culture plantation where there’s one Uncle Tom and everyone is just incredibly nice to each other,” the author preferred to think “about individuals who’ve been traumatized, brutalized, and dehumanized their whole lives.” “Everyone is going to be battling for that one additional mouthful of breakfast in the morning, fighting for that one extra piece of land,” Whitehead continued.
- If you bring a group of individuals together who have been raped and tortured, that’s what you’re going to get, in my opinion.
- She now lives in the Hob, a derelict building reserved for outcasts—”those who had been crippled by the overseers’ punishments,.
- As Cora’s female enslavers on the Randall plantation, Zsane Jhe, left, and Aubriana Davis, right, take on the roles of Zsane and Aubriana.
- “Under the pitiless branches of the whipping tree,” the guy whips her with his silver cane the next morning, and the plantation’s supervisor gives her a lashing the next day.
- It “truly offers a sense of the type of control that the enslavers have over individuals who are enslaved and the forms of resistance that the slaves attempt to condition,” says Crew of the Underground Railroad.
- By making Cora the central character of his novel, Whitehead addresses themes that uniquely afflict enslaved women, such as the fear of rape and the agony of carrying a child just to have the infant sold into captivity elsewhere.
- The author “writes about it pretty effectively, with a little amount of words, but truly capturing the agony of life as an enslaved lady,” adds Sinha.
- Amazon Studios / Atsushi Nishijima / He claims that the novelist’s depiction of the Underground Railroad “gets to the core of how this undertaking was both tremendously brave and terribly perilous,” as Sinha puts it.
- Escapees’ liminal state is succinctly described by Cora in her own words.
that turns a living jail into your sole shelter,” she muses after being imprisoned in an abolitionist’s attic for months on end: ” How long had she been in bondage, and how long had she been out of it.” “Being free has nothing to do with being chained or having a lot of room,” Cora says further.
Despite its diminutive size, the space seemed spacious and welcoming.
Crew believes the new Amazon adaption will stress the psychological toll of slavery rather than merely presenting the physical torture faced by enslaved folks like it did in the first film.
view of it is that it feels a little needless to have it here.
In his words, “I recognized that my job was going to be coupling the brutality with its psychological effects—not shying away from the visual representation of these things, but focusing on what it meant to the people.” “Can you tell me how they’re fighting it?
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