The Underground Railroad
During the 1800s, estimates suggest that more than 100,000 enslaved people sought freedom through the Underground Railroad. It wasn't a real railroad with tracks and trains. The Underground Railroad was a term used to describe the secret routes enslaved men, women and children took to gain their freedom. This clandestine network had several branches and extended all the way from the deep South and Texas to states and territories where slavery had been prohibited. Since slaveowners were allowed to retrieve their slaves even in free states, many of those fleeing kept moving until they reached Canada or Mexico, two nations that had abolished slavery.
Those who escaped often obtained help and protection from free Blacks, whites, Native Americans -- and other slaves -- who acted as conductors and provided food and shelter along the way. This 19th century freedom movement challenged the way Americans viewed slavery and freedom. And its lessons of courage, cooperation and perseverence resonate today.
Timeline
A list of historic dates along the path to abolition.
Freedom Stations
The Freedom Stations Program is a national outreach program linking historic Underground Railroad sites, research centers, university library collections, and museums engaged in Underground Railroad and slavery era research, historic preservation through the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.
Passage to Freedom
A new website, PassageToFreedomOhio.org, where visitors can access detailed information about Ohio's many Underground Railroad sites and plan trips using downloadable maps with details listing nearby attractions, restaurants, lodging choices and regional points of interest.
Network to Freedom
In 1998 the Freedom Center and the National Park Service (NPS) signed a cooperative agreement to become partners in the effort to make the history and stories of the Underground Railroad available to the widest possible audience. These NPS sites provide general background information, lists of documented sites, and case studies of individuals who escaped to freedom. Today, the National Park Service, through shared leadership with local, state, and federal entities, as well as interested individuals and organizations operates the Network to Freedom which will:
- promote programs and partnerships to commemorate
- preserve sites and other resources associated with, and
- educate the public about the historical significance of the UGRR.
