Who Were The Quakers In The Underground Railroad? (Solution)

The Quaker campaign to end slavery can be traced back to the late 1600s, and many played a pivotal role in the Underground Railroad. In 1776, Quakers were prohibited from owning slaves, and 14 years later they petitioned the U.S. Congress for the abolition of slavery.

Underground Railroad

• Quaker Levi Coffin (1798 – 1877), based in Cincinnati, Ohio, was known as the President of the Underground Railroad. He and his wife Catherine, also a Quaker, helped about 2,000 slaves to freedom, Some Quakers did not feel that acting outside the law was appropriate, despite their concern for the slaves’ plight.

Were Quakers part of the Underground Railroad?

Quakers played a huge role in the formation of the Underground Railroad, with George Washington complaining as early as 1786 that a “society of Quakers, formed for such purposes, have attempted to liberate” a neighbor’s slave.

What is a Quaker in slavery?

Quakers were among the first white people to denounce slavery in the American colonies and Europe, and the Society of Friends became the first organization to take a collective stand against both slavery and the slave trade, later spearheading the international and ecumenical campaigns against slavery.

Did Harriet Tubman work with Quakers?

Tubman often worked hand-in-hand with Quaker Underground Railroad agent and financier Thomas Garrett in Wilmington, Delaware, to move freedom seekers from Maryland to Philadelphia.

Was Thomas Clarkson a Quaker?

The twelve founding members included nine Quakers, and three pioneering Anglicans: Clarkson, Granville Sharp, and Philip Sansom. They were sympathetic to the religious revival that had predominantly nonconformist origins, but which sought wider non-denominational support for a “Great Awakening” amongst believers.

Who set up the Underground Railroad?

In the early 1800s, Quaker abolitionist Isaac T. Hopper set up a network in Philadelphia that helped enslaved people on the run.

Who are Quakers and what do they believe?

Quakerism is a religious movement begun by George Fox in the 17th century. Quakers believe that all people have access to the inner light of direct communion with God. They believe in the spiritual equality of all people, pacifism, consensus, and simplicity.

Are Quakers against slavery?

In 1776, Quakers were prohibited from owning slaves, and 14 years later they petitioned the U.S. Congress for the abolition of slavery. As a primary Quaker belief is that all human beings are equal and worthy of respect, the fight for human rights has also extended to many other areas of society.

How did the Quakers treat the natives?

The Quakers treated the Indians as spiritual equals but cultural inferiors who must learn European ways or perish. They stressed allotment of tribal lands and the creation of individual farms.

Did Quakers pay taxes?

Most Quakers were opposed to taxes designated specifically for military purposes. Though the official position of the Society of Friends was against any payment of war taxes. A number of Quakers even refused the “mixed taxes.” Up to 500 Quakers were disowned for paying war taxes or joining the army.

What is am I not a man and a brother?

‘Am I not a man and a brother?’ Josiah Wedgwood’s image of an enslaved African, kneeling, manacled hands outstretched, with the title ‘Am I not a man and a brother’, is viewed as the symbol of the struggle for abolition and eventual emancipation.

Who was Annie Besant and how did she oppose white slavery?

On 23rd June 1888, Annie Besant, a campaigner for women’s welfare and rights, published an article called ‘White Slavery in London’. She revealed the terrible conditions and poor wages suffered by the match girls employed at the Bryant and May factory in the east end of London.

What was the religion of Thomas Clarkson?

In 1787, Clarkson and Sharp were instrumental in forming the Committee for the Abolition of the African Slave Trade. Many of the other members were Quakers. The Committee helped to persuade the member of parliament William Wilberforce to take up the abolitionist cause.

8 Key Contributors to the Underground Railroad

Isaac Hopper, an abolitionist, is shown in this image from the Kean Collection/Getty Images. As early as 1786, George Washington expressed dissatisfaction with a “organization of Quakers, founded for such reasons,” which had sought to free a neighbor’s slave. Quakers were instrumental in the establishment of the Underground Railroad. Slavery was opposed in especially in Philadelphia, where Isaac Hopper, a Quaker who converted to Christianity, created what has been described as “the first working cell of the abolitionist underground.” Hopper not only protected escaped slave hunters in his own house, but he also constructed a network of safe havens and recruited a web of spies in order to get insight into their plans.

Hopper, a friend of Joseph Bonaparte, the exiled brother of the former French emperor, went to New York City in 1829 and established himself as a successful businessman.

READ MORE: The Underground Railroad and Its Operation

2. John Brown

Isaac Hopper, an abolitionist, is shown in this image from the Kean Collection/Getty Images collection. As early as 1786, George Washington expressed dissatisfaction with a “organization of Quakers, founded for such reasons,” which had sought to free a neighbor’s slave. Quakers were instrumental in the establishment of the Underground Railroad. Slavery was opposed in especially in Philadelphia, where Isaac Hopper, a Quaker who converted to Christianity, created what has been dubbed “the first working cell of the abolitionist underground,” according to one source.

A tailor by profession, whose speciality was exploiting legal loopholes to secure the liberation of enslaved individuals in the courts of justice.

His work with runaway slaves continued there, and at one time he had to defend his Quaker bookstore from an anti-abolitionist crowd that had assembled outside.

3. Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman was born into slavery on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, where she experienced repeated violent beatings, one of which involving a two-pound lead weight, which left her with seizures and migraines for the rest of her life. Tubman fled bondage in 1849, following the North Star on a 100-mile walk into Pennsylvania, fearing she would be sold and separated from her family. She died in the process. She went on to become the most well-known “conductor” on the Underground Railroad, participating in around 13 rescue missions back into Maryland and rescuing at least 70 enslaved individuals, including several of her siblings.

As a scout, spy, and healer for the Union Army, Tubman maintained her anti-slavery activities during the Civil War, and is believed to have been the first woman in the United States to lead troops into battle. Tubman died in 1865. When Harriet Tubman Led a Civil War Raid, You Should Pay Attention

4. Thomas Garrett

‘Thomas Garrett’ is a fictional character created by author Thomas Garrett. The New York Public Library is a public library in New York City. The Quaker “stationmaster” Thomas Garrett, who claimed to have assisted over 2,750 escaped slaves before the commencement of the Civil War, lived in Wilmington, Delaware, and Tubman frequently stopped there on her route up north. Garret not only gave his guests with a place to stay but also with money, clothing & food. He even personally led them to a more secure area on occasion, arm in arm.

Despite this, he persisted in his efforts.

He also stated that “if any of you know of any poor slave who needs assistance, please send him to me, as I now publicly pledge myself to double my diligence and never miss an opportunity to assist a slave to obtain freedom.”

5. William Still

William Still is a well-known author and poet. Photograph courtesy of the Hulton Archive/Getty Images Many runaways traveled from Wilmington, the final Underground Railroad station in the slave state of Delaware, to the office of William Still in adjacent Philadelphia, which was the last stop on their journey. The Vigilance Committee of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society, which provided food and clothing, coordinated escapes, raised funds, and otherwise served as a one-stop social services shop for hundreds of fugitive slaves each year, was chaired by Still, who was a free-born African American.

Still ultimately produced a book in which he chronicled the personal histories of his guests, which offered valuable insight into the operation of the Underground Railroad as a whole.

His assistance to Osborne Anderson, the only African-American member of John Brown’s company to survive the Harpers Ferry raid, was another occasion when he was called upon.

6. Levi Coffin

Charles T. Webber’s painting The Underground Railroad depicts fleeing slaves Levi Coffin, his wife Catherine, and Hannah Haydock providing assistance to the group of fugitive slaves. Getty Images/Bettina Archive/Getty Images Levi Coffin, often known as the “president of the Underground Railroad,” is said to have been an abolitionist when he was seven years old after witnessing a column of chained slaves people being taken to an auction house. Following a humble beginning delivering food to fugitives holed up on his family’s North Carolina plantation, he rose through the ranks to become a successful trader and prolific “stationmaster,” first in Newport (now Fountain City), Indiana, and subsequently in Cincinnati, Kentucky.

In addition to hosting anti-slavery lectures and abolitionist sewing club meetings, Coffin, like his fellow Quaker Thomas Garrett, stood steadfast when hauled before a court of law.

His writings state that “the dictates of humanity came in direct conflict with the law of the land,” and that “we rejected the law.”

7. Elijah Anderson

The Ohio River, which formed the border between slave and free states, was referred to as the River Jordan in abolitionist circles because it represented the border between slave and free states. Madison, Indiana, was an especially appealing crossing point for enslaved persons on the run, because to an Underground Railroad cell established there by blacksmith Elijah Anderson and several other members of the town’s Black middle class in the 1850s. With his fair skin, Anderson might have passed for a white slave owner on his repeated travels into Kentucky, where would purportedly pick up 20 to 30 enslaved persons at a time and whisk them away to freedom, sometimes accompanying them as far as the Coffins’ mansion in Newport.

An anti-slavery mob devastated Madison in 1846, almost drowning an agent of the Underground Railroad, prompting Anderson to flee upriver to Lawrenceburg, Indiana, where he eventually settled.

8. Thaddeus Stevens

Mr. Thaddeus Stevens is an American lawyer and senator. Bettmann Archive courtesy of Getty Images; Matthew Brady/Bettmann Archive Thaddeus Stevens, a representative from Pennsylvania, was outspoken in his opposition to slavery. The 14th and 15th amendments, which guaranteed African-American citizens equal protection under the law and the right to vote, respectively, were among his many accomplishments, and he also advocated for a radical reconstruction of the South, which included the redistribution of land from white plantation owners to former enslaved people.

Despite this, it wasn’t until 2002 that his Underground Railroad activities were brought to light, when archeologists uncovered a hidden hiding hole in the courtyard of his Lancaster house.

Seward, also served as Underground Railroad “stationmasters” during the era.

Underground Railroad

An informal network of secret passageways and safe homes used by fleeing slaves in the United States of America on their trip north to “Free States” or Canada has been known as the Underground Railroad since the 1840s, when the name was first used. In addition to twenty-nine states, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean were included in the territory. Along with many others, Quakers played an important role in the event. It was referred to as a “Underground Railroad” because it was kept hidden, and as a “Railroad” because it indicated the route taken by fleeing slaves on their way to freedom.

• “Stockholders” were those who made contributions of money or products to aid the cause.
• “Conductors” were people who planned the routes and who frequently assisted and accompanied the slaves in their quest for freedom on the Underground Railroad.
• Stations were typically between 10 and 20 miles apart, and the travelers either walked between them or hid in covered wagons or carts with false bottoms while traveling between stations.
• The exact date when the Underground Railroad got its inception is unknown.

According to Washington’s letter to Robert Morris, a slave had escaped from one of his neighbours, and “a society of Quakers, organized for such reasons, had sought to liberate him.acting in a manner abhorrent to justice.in my judgment highly impolitic with respect to the State.” Over 3,000 persons were employed by the Underground Railroad by 1850, according to historical records.

African Americans such as Harriet Tubman (a former slave who made 19 journeys to help first her own family and then other slaves) made the most significant contributions, but many others were also involved, including members of Methodist and other evangelical groups, as well as Quakers and other religious groups.

1. Among the other Underground Railroad Quaker strongholds were Salem, Iowa; Newport; Alum Creek; Cass County; Farmington; and New Bedford, Massachusetts.
2. Thomas Garrett (1789 – 1871), a Quaker, is credited with assisting almost 2,700 slaves in their escape from slavery and was known as the “station master” of the final Underground Railroad station, which was located in Wilmington, Delaware.
3. Quaker Levi Coffin (1798 – 1877), who lived in Cincinnati, Ohio, was known as the “President of the Underground Railroad” because of his work on the Underground Railroad.
4. Some Quakers, however, did not believe that acting outside the law was justified, despite their empathy for the slaves’ condition.
5. By the middle of the nineteenth century, it is believed that over 50,000 slaves had escaped from the slave states of the South through the use of the Underground Railroad.
6. It is possible that federal marshals who failed to apprehend an accused runaway slave may be fined $1,000.

The Underground Railroad did not come to an end as a result of the Fugitive Slave Act. With the abolition of slavery at the conclusion of the American Civil War, it came to a logical conclusion (1861-65).

Quakers and the Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad is a word that has been in use since the 1840s to describe an informal network of secret routes and safe homes that escaped slaves in the United States of America used to get north to the “Free States” or Canada. In addition to twenty-nine states, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean were included in its scope. A large number of people, including Quakers, were involved in it. A “Railroad” because it traced the route taken by fleeing slaves on their way to freedom, and a “Underground” because it was hidden.

• Investors were those who made monetary or material contributions to the cause.
• “Conductors” were people who planned the routes and who frequently assisted and accompanied the slaves in their quest for freedom aboard the slave ships.
• Stations were typically between 10 and 20 miles apart, and the travelers either walked between them or concealed in covered wagons or carts with false bottoms while traveling between them.
• We don’t know for sure how long the Underground Railroad has been running.

According to Washington’s letter to Robert Morris, a slave had escaped from one of his neighbours, and “a society of Quakers, organized for such reasons, have endeavored to release him.acting in a manner abhorrent to justice.acting, in my view, most impoliticly with regard to the State.” Over 3,000 persons were employed by the Underground Railroad by 1850, according to official records.

Afro-Americans such as Harriet Tubman (a former slave who made 19 journeys to help first her own family and then other slaves) made the most significant contributions, but many others were also involved, including members of Methodist and other evangelical groups, as well as members of the Society of Friends.

1. Salem, Iowa, Newport, Indiana, Alum Creek, Ohio, Cass County, Michigan, Farmington, New York, and New Bedford, Massachusetts were among the Underground Railroad Quaker strongholds.
2. Over the course of nearly 40 years, he assisted fugitive slaves on the Underground Railroad, despite the fact that he was fined more than $5,400 for doing so.
3. It was he and his wife Catherine, who was also a Quaker, who were responsible for the emancipation of around 2,000 slaves.
4. In their opinion, it was preferable to work within the confines of the existing legal framework to bring about the abolition of slavery in its entirety, since this would benefit all slaves rather than the few runaways who may be able to gain from their assistance on an individual level.
5. Concerned about the number of slaves who were successfully escaping, plantation owners successfully convinced Congress to establish the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850.
6. Individuals who assisted the escapees by giving refuge, food, or any other sort of help may be sentenced to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine if they are caught.

The Underground Railroad continued to operate despite the Fugitive Slave Act’s prohibition on slave transportation. When slavery was abolished at the end of the American Civil War, it came to a natural conclusion (1861-65).

Quakers in the abolition movement – Wikipedia

Abolitionists in both the United Kingdom and the United States of America, including members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), played a significant part in the abolitionist movement. In the American colonies and Europe, Quakers were among the first white people to denounce slavery, and the Society of Friends was the first organization to take a collective stand against both slavery and the slave trade, later spearheading the international and ecumenical campaigns against slavery in the nineteenth century.

Beginnings

Slavery in Barbados was initially questioned by Quaker colonists in the 1670s, and it was only in 1688 that slavery was publicly rejected. It was in that year that four German settlers (including the Lutheran Francis Daniel Pastorius and three Quakers) made a complaint from the settlement of Germantown, which was near to Philadelphia in the newly created American colony of Pennsylvania. The actions of William Southeby, John Hepburn, Ralph Sandiford, and Benjamin Lay ushered in nearly a century of vigorous debate about the morality of slavery among Pennsylvanian Quakers, which resulted in anti-slavery writing and direct action from several Quakers, including William Southeby, John Hepburn, Ralph Sandiford, and Benjamin Lay.

Slavery was opposed by a new generation of Quakers, including John Woolman, Anthony Benezet, David Cooper, and others, who urged that Quaker society break its connections with the slave trade.

The London Yearly Meetingsfollowed suit, declaring a’strong minute’ condemning slave trading in 1761, as a result of the slave trade.

Quakers on both sides of the Atlantic would be divided by the American Revolution.

United Kingdom

Throughout the United Kingdom, Quakers would be at the forefront of the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade, which, despite a number of setbacks, would be responsible for forcing the abolition of the British slave trade in 1807 and the abolition of slavery throughout the British Empire by 1838, among other accomplishments.

United States

Quakers would have less success if they tried to establish themselves in the United States. Often, it was simpler for Quakers to express their opposition to the slave trade and slave ownership in general terms than it was for them to express their opposition to the system of slavery as it expressed itself in their own local communities. As individuals spoke out against slavery after the United States gained freedom, local Quaker meetings were frequently split on how to respond to slavery; vocal Quaker abolitionists were occasionally harshly condemned by their fellow Quakers.

• The wording of a “minute taken at ‘that Quarterly Meeting held at Providence Meeting-house on the first day of the Sixth month, 1715′” may be found in The Friend, Vol.
• The text is as follows: “A serious concern was brought before the meeting regarding some Friends who were still engaged in the practice of importing, purchasing, and selling negroe slaves; after some time spent in discussion, it was decided to sign the document.
• Wright, Nico.
• Blunsten signed the document on behalf of the meeting.
• For example, the Pennsylvania Abolition Society, which was established in 1775 and comprised mostly of Quakers; seven of the Society’s 10 founding white members were Quakers, and seventeen of the twenty-four people who attended the Society’s four sessions were Quakers.

While state laws prohibited slaveowners from legally freeing their slaves, North Carolina’s Quakers frequently entrusted their slaves to local meetings in order to de factofree their slaves; this practice existed from 1808 to 1829, after which trusteeship declined and many Quakers left the state to free their slaves in “free states.” The Underground Railroad was also heavily influenced by Quakers, who played an important role.

1. When Levi Coffin was a boy in North Carolina, he helped runaway slaves who had gotten away from their masters.
2. Many households provided assistance to slaves as they traveled through the Underground Railroad system.
3. The Bundy family managed a station that carried groups of slaves from Belmont, Kentucky, to Salem, Ohio, during the Civil War.
4. When some Quakers were persecuted by slave owners in the nineteenth century, they were compelled to relocate to the western United States in order to prevent further persecution.
5. Zephaniah Kingsley was a colorful Quaker and slave dealer who backed slavery when it was done benevolently.
6. He was also a big supporter of letting free blacks to enter the country, claiming that they helped to make a country stronger.

However, once Florida became an independent United States territory in 1821, Kingsley was compelled to go to Haiti, where he acquired a farm and established a plantation school for children (today in the Dominican Republic).

Notes

• Kristen Block is the author of this piece (2012). Ordinary Lives in the Early Caribbean: Religion, Colonial Competition, and the Politics of Profit is a book on everyday life in the early Caribbean. University of Georgia Press, Athens, GA, ISBN 9780820338675
• Brown University Press, Athens, GA, ISBN 9780820338675
• Christopher Leslie is a writer who lives in the United Kingdom (2006). British Abolitionism’s Moral Capital: Its Origins and Development. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, ISBN 9780807830345
• Carey, Brycchan (2012). From Peace to Freedom: Quaker Rhetoric and the Birth of American Antislavery, 1658-1761 is a book on the history of antislavery rhetoric in America. Brycchan Carey and Geoffrey Plank, eds., New Haven: Yale University Press, ISBN 9780300180770
• Carey, Brycchanand Geoffrey Plank (2014). Abolitionists and Quakers go hand in hand. The University of Illinois Press, Champaign, Illinois, ISBN 9780252038266. CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) additional text: authors list (link)
• CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
• Davis, David Brion is a fictional character created by author David Brion in the 1990s (1966). The Issue of Slavery in Western Culture is a complex one. Cornell University Press, Ithaca and London, ISBN 9780195056396
• Drake, Thomas E. Cornell University Press, Ithaca and London, ISBN 9780195056396 (1950). Slavery and the Quakers in the United States. Yale University Press, New Haven, Connecticut
• Frost, J. William (1980). The Quaker Roots of Anti-Slavery Movement Norwood Editions, Norwood, Pennsylvania
• Gragg, Larry (2009). The Quaker Community on Barbados: Challenging the Planter Class’s Cultural Traditions The University of Missouri Press, Columbia, Missouri, ISBN 9780826218476
• Jordan, Ryan P. (2007). Slavery and the Meetinghouse: The Quakers and the Abolitionist Dilemma, 1820-1865 is a collection of essays on slavery and the meetinghouse. Donna McDaniel’s book, Bloomington: Indiana University Press, ISBN 9780253348609, is available online. Vanessa Julye’s full name is Vanessa Julye (2009). Fit for Freedom, Not for Friendship: Quakers, African Americans, and the Myth of Racial Justice (Quakers, African Americans, and the Myth of Racial Justice) 9781888305791
• Jackson, Maurice
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Quaker Press (2009). This is the voice of Anthony Benezet, the Father of Atlantic Abolitionism, and it must be heard: The University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, PA, ISBN 9780812221268
• James, Sydney V., ed (1963). A People Among Peoples: Quaker Benevolence in Eighteenth-Century America is a book about the Quakers who lived in the eighteenth century. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts
• Nash, Gary, and Jean Soderlund (1991). Emancipation in Pennsylvania and Its Aftermath: A Study in Gradual Liberation. The Oxford University Press is located in Oxford, England. Soderlund, Jean (CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Soderlund, Jean (CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• (1985). Friends and Slavery: A Conflicted Imagination Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1997.

External links

• Quakers and the Abolition of Slavery
• Quakers and the Abolition of Slavery Resources and Information about Quakers and Slavery
• The Underground Railroad and the Society of Friends
• Meetings and publications on the anti-slavery movement, including Quakers and Slavery
• Conferences and publications on the anti-slavery movement Africans in America/Part 3: The Founding of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society
• MSN Encarta: The Abolitionist Movement

Quaker Accounts of the Underground Railroad in the Region of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting

Christopher Densmore, Curator of the Friends Historical Library, compiled this list. See also the website for the exhibit, QuakersSlavery. Regarding the Underground Railroad: Some Thoughts The “considerations” that follow are meant to put the study of the Underground Railroad in its proper historical perspective.

• Slavery was opposed in a variety of ways, with the primary goal being the abolition of the practice. Because it involved a relatively small number of individuals, the Underground Railroad was not the primary goal of the anti-slavery movement—the primary goal was the abolition of slavery as a system
• Those who worked on the Underground Railroad were well aware that it was the fugitives themselves who had taken the initiative and assumed the majority of the risks associated with escaping
• In writing about the Underground Railroad, the role of free and “self-emancipated” African American communities in assisting fleeing enslaved individuals, defending fugitives in the North, and avoiding the capture and slavery of free African-Americans has frequently been downplayed or minimized. A greater amount of investigation is required
• The legal component of the Underground Railroad is critical. Abolitionism and its supporters employed anti-kidnapping and “personal liberty” legislation not just to prevent the slavery of free people, but also to impede the return of runaway slaves. The participation of white persons on the Underground Railroad created fundamental problems regarding the balance between the legal obligations of citizens and the moral and religious responsibilities of individuals to follow their consciences and/or obey the will of God. The amount of organization on the Underground Railroad varied depending on the time period and location. A small number of “agents” and “station masters” were active in well-traveled routes, sometimes supporting hundreds of fugitives over the course of many years. Another person or group of people may be involved in a single occurrence, at the most. Some fugitives, possibly many, managed to escape with little or no assistance from the Underground Railroad
• Anti-slavery and abolitionist militants were frequently split on the tactics and purposes of abolitionist struggle. Abolitionists William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass were both active in the movement, although they disagreed on the need of political activity. Quakers, who were anti-slavery by long held conviction and practice, were divided on the subject of collaborating with non-Quakers in reform groups. Some, such as Thomas Garrett and Lucretia Mott, were involved in abolitionist groups on a regular basis. Those who did not join the organized abolitionist movement included active Underground Railroad operatives such as Samuel Moore of Bucks County and John Jackson of Darby, Delaware County, who stayed outside of the organization. Secret hiding places for fleeing slaves, which were frequently mentioned in local tradition, appear to have played a minor role in the Underground Railroad. While escaped slave tales and the accounts of Underground Railroad conductors mention sheltering in cellars, attics, barns, and fields, secret chambers, if they existed at all, appear to have played a significant role in the twentieth century mythology of the Underground Railroad.

Documents and Readings

• Dr. Edwin Fussell has written on the Underground Railroad in Chester County, Pennsylvania
• William T. Kelley has written about the Underground Railroad on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Delaware
• And others have written about the Underground Railroad in other parts of the country. In this collection, you will find documents relating to abolitionism, the Underground Railroad, kidnapping, and Quakers in Bucks County, Pennsylvania
• George S. Truman’s The Sharon Female Academy in Delaware County, Pennsylvania
• And Chester County (Pennsylvania) documents relating to abolitionism, the Underground Railroad, kidnapping, and Quakers.

Faith In Action: Quakers and the Underground Railroad

• One such resource is a map of underground railroad routes, which may be found on a computer with Internet connection.

Preparation for Activity

• The National Geographic webpage on the Underground Railroad should be shown on the computer
• Make copies of Leader Resource 1 and distribute them to everyone for viewing. Optional: More information on Quakers and the Underground Railroad may be found at suite101.com and How Stuff Works.

Description of Activity

The relationship between the Quakers and the Underground Railroad is explained to the youth. Begin by inquiring of the participants about their knowledge of the Underground Railroad. Inform participants that Quakers played a significant role in the operation of the Underground Railroad, a system through which persons who were enslaved were assisted in their escape to the northern states and Canada during the American Civil War. The abolitionist movement – the effort to put an end to slavery – had its start with the ministry of the Quakers, who preached abolition throughout the United States and territories throughout the early nineteenth century.

The routes begin in the southern states of the United States and conclude in Canada or the northern states.

National Geographic produced the documentary The Underground Railroad: The Journey.

• Despite the fact that Quakers were among the earliest members of the abolitionist movement and were engaged in the Underground Railroad throughout the country’s early history, many Quakers were also slave traffickers and owners during the country’s early history. Does this come as a surprise to you? According to the interactive site, the majority of slaves were urged to continue their journey into Canada. Why? Does this come as a surprise to you? Tell me about anything else you took away from the interactive site. What happened to Thomas Garrett, the Quaker who was jailed for assisting fugitive slaves in his quest for freedom? What happened to the fugitive slaves that were apprehended? Do you still believe that persons who assisted the Underground Railroad were courageous, despite the fact that the punishment for a white Quaker who assisted an African American slave was far less severe than the punishment for the slave himself? War, according to many Quakers, is sinful. In Africa, a large number of slaves perished as a result of battle. What, in your opinion, was the impact of this on Quaker attitudes on slavery? What impact did religious convictions play in persuading many Quakers to oppose slavery?

However, many Quakers were also slave dealers and owners in the early days of the country’s history, even though they were among the most vocal supporters of the abolitionist movement and prominent participants in the Underground Railroad. It’s hard to believe, isn’t it? According to the interactive site, the vast majority of slaves were urged to continue their journey northward to the United States. Why? It’s hard to believe, isn’t it? Tell me about anything else you took away from the interactive website.

Runaway slaves who were apprehended met with what kind of doom.

War is considered immoral by many Quakers.

Which of the following do you believe had an impact on Quaker attitudes about slavery.

Quaker Abolitionists

Mark’s Contribution Andrew Huddle’s official website With permission from the Tar Heel Junior Historian, this article has been reprinted. The fall of 1996. NC Museum of History, Tar Heel Junior Historian Association, Tar Heel Junior Historian Association Anyone who had the courage to preach an abolitionist gospel in the South during the antebellum period would have faced serious consequences. After all was said and done, the Reverend Adam Crooks, a young Wesleyan Methodist missionary, arrived in North Carolina during the later months of 1847 to serve to a small circuit of antislavery churches.

Crooks was surprised to discover a surprising number of individuals who shared his thoughts about the “peculiar institution” after arriving in Jamestown, Guilford County.

Crooks provided the following unique perspective in one of his first comments to theTrue Wesleyan, the journal of his denomination: “There is far more antislavery fervor in this region of North Carolina than I had anticipated.” This is in large part due to the efforts of the Society of Friends.

• It is also interesting that I am mistaken for a Quaker when I am free to go anywhere I like.
• and even the Friends themselves assumed I was one of them.
• During the time of Crooks’s mission, Quakerism in North Carolina was on the decline.
• By the late 1840s, the denomination had suffered greatly as a result of this protracted fight.

Others changed their religious affiliations entirely. In spite of this, the Friends of North Carolina had a significant influence on the discussion over slavery during the antebellum period, and their exploits represent an important chapter in the history of that time period.

Quakers and the Issue of Slavery

The fact that North Carolina’s Quakers did not have a disagreement on slavery during the early years is noteworthy. In reality, antislavery feeling among Quakers developed gradually over a long period of time. Slavery was not banned by Quaker philosophy, despite the fact that issues of conscience periodically arose in the community. A New Jersey Quaker called John Woolman, on the other hand, took up the antislavery cause in the 1750s and went throughout the country to preach against the ills of slavery.

1. Woolman thought that slavery fostered a callousness toward humanity that was demeaning to both the slaveholder and the captive, and he advised slaveholders to cease their relationship with slavery as soon as possible.
2. Many of these Quakers came with a strong antipathy of slavery in their hearts.
3. Local gatherings were increasingly tense as a result of the buying and selling of persons.
4. It may come as a surprise to learn that the most important issue confronting North Carolina Friends was the manumission, or freeing, of their own slaves.

Quaker Dilemma: Manumission in North Carolina

It was not until 1741 that a colonial ordinance was passed prohibiting the manumission of slaves, save as a prize for excellent, or meritorious, service to the government. County courts had the ability to determine the merits of service in each individual instance, and if freedom was granted, freed slaves were given six months to leave the state before they were forced to return. In exchange for their service in the American Revolution, many former slaves were emancipated. As the topic of slavery became more contentious, many Quaker slaveholders found themselves in a difficult situation.

• However, it was against the law for them to release their slaves just because they wished to or because they believed they should.
• Newby’s petition triggered a spirited discussion that returned in meetings for over two years after it was first presented to the board.
• When Newby and 10 other Quaker slaveholders realized they were in breach of the 1741 statute, they released forty slaves.
• Officials were outraged and accused the Quakers of seeking to instigate a slave revolt in order to gain control of the country.

This action marked the beginning of a lengthy series of legal fights between the state of North Carolina and the Quaker community in the state. These fights lasted long into the nineteenth century and caused significant suffering among the Quakers.

Quaker Efforts at Freeing Slaves

It was not until 1741 that a colonial ordinance was passed prohibiting the manumission of slaves, save as a reward for great, or meritorious, service to the country. County courts had the ability to determine the merits of service in each individual instance, and if freedom was granted, liberated slaves were given six months to leave the state before being re-enslaved elsewhere. While participating in the American Revolution, many enslaved people gained freedom. Several Quaker slaveholders found themselves in an untenable situation as the slavery question became more contentious.

• However, it was against the law for them to release their slaves just because they want to or believed they should.
• Following the introduction of Newby’s petition, an ensuing heated argument arose in meetings for over two years.
• The next year, Newby and 10 other Quaker slaveholders liberated forty slaves, in clear violation of the 1741 statute.
• Angry officials accused the Quakers of seeking to instigate a slave uprising, which they denounced.
• This action marked the beginning of a lengthy series of legal fights between the state of North Carolina and the Quakers of North Carolina.

LibGuides: Quakers, Slavery, and the Underground Railroad: Introduction and Online Sources

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Online Resources

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The Underground Railroad and Guilford College

One of the most often requested queries in the Friends Historical Collection is for information regarding the Underground Railroad and other antislavery activities carried out by Quakers in North Carolina, which is one of the most frequently asked questions. This guide contains some information on local resources as well as information on how to do research on the Underground Railroad and related topics in Guilford’s Hege Library, which is located on the campus of Guilford College.

Hoosier National Forest – Underground Railroad: Lick Creek Church

Quakers and the Underground Railroad in IndianaQuakers are members of the Religious Society of Friends, a Christian movement that began in the late 17th century. Most Quakers viewed slavery as a disgraceful institution that not only affected the enslaved but also the life of the slave owners and their treatment of other human beings.In the 19th century, Quakers in the southern United States faced persecution because of their social and moral views about the institution of slavery. This eventually led to their pilgrimage to the Midwest.Quakers in Indiana, specifically the region that encompasses today’s Hoosier National Forest, migrated from Guilford, Chatham, and Orange County, North Carolina. Persecution and increasingly restrictive laws in North Carolina caused this mass exodus. North Carolina law no longer allowed manumission of one’s slaves without a $1,000 fee and then the freed individual had to leave the state immediately.These restrictive laws prompted Quakers to create a trusteeship system to free (manumit) their slaves. This system allowed for slaveholding Quakers to entrust an enslaved individual to another Quaker until that person could be freed and relocated out of the state. Often these trustees and other Quakers who wanted to escape the laws fled to Indiana.Once in Indiana, African Americans were not always warmly welcomed to the state. Quakers played a vital role in facilitating their settlement and helped other fugitive slaves reach freedom through the Underground Railroad in the region.A notable Underground Railroad station in the region was the Quaker settlement of Chambersburg. Close to the Kentucky border, Quaker conductors would guide freedom seekers through Chambersburg and often to the Lick Creek settlement or beyond.Sources:“The Underground Railroad in Indiana,”Cheryl LaRoche,Free Black Communities and the Underground Railroad: the Geography of ResistanceUS Forest Service, “Underground Railroad in Indiana: Lick Creek, Hoosier National Forest,”This information about the Underground Railroad is part of a geo-located multi-forest interpretive program. Please contact the U.S. Forest Service Washington Office Recreation, Heritage, and Volunteer Resources program leadership with any questions or to make changes.SGV – Recreation Data and Information Coordinator.

At a Glance

Information Center:

The U.S. Forest Service has created this multi-Forest interpretive program to highlight people and places along the historic Underground Railroad. Some of these sites are “virtual” locations and are intended to provoke thoughts and conversation but may not have anything physical present on the ground.These locations are generally relevant to the topics presented on the webpage.Please use caution when traveling to these remote locations and consult your local Forest Service office for more details.All of the sites highlighted in this program can be seen by visitingand searching within the magnifying glass for “Underground Railroad.”

Revealing Upstate New York’s Key Role in the Underground Railroad

As we go along the Underground Railroad, we’ll be bringing you along for the ride. There were no tickets necessary for passengers or conductors during that time period. This is due to the fact that the Underground Railroad constituted a symbolic network of abolitionists – both Black and white – who provided sanctuary to enslaved persons who were fleeing the Southern Confederacy. The John Kane House, which was erected in the 1700s, is our first destination. During the Revolutionary War, the structure was utilized by the then-General George Washington.

It had an important part in the beginnings of the anti-slavery movement in the state of North Carolina, according to historians.

Peter Bunten, head of the Mid-Hudson Anti-Slavery History Project, talks us about the people who sought freedom during the American Revolutionary War era. It was their own emancipation that they were constructing. “By fleeing, they were demonstrating their own agency,” he explained.

What You Need To Know

• The Hudson Valley and the Capital Region played significant roles in the movement of the Underground Railroad in the United States
• The Underground Railroad represented a symbolic network of abolitionists – both Black and white – who offered shelter to enslaved people who were fleeing the South
• The Hudson Valley and the Capital Region played significant roles in the movement of the Underground Railroad in the United States
• You may find out if your home was utilized along the Underground Railroad by visiting the Mid-Hudson Antislavery History Project, which has put up a guide on how to find out.

Abolitionists, both Black and white, who offered shelter to enslaved people fleeing the South played an important role in the Underground Railroad movement in the United States. The Hudson Valley and the Capital Region played important roles in the movement of the Underground Railroad in the United States. You may find out if your home was utilized along the Underground Railroad by visiting the Mid-Hudson Antislavery History Project, which has put up a guide on how to do so.