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Caroline Jolley Ms. Caruso English 1102 19 February 2012 Secrecy At Its Finest The Underground Railroad was a secret escape route developed particularly to
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help slaves escape to freedom.1 It operated between 1861 and 1865 before the ending of the Civil War abolished slavery. (Maryland & The Underground Railroad) Hiding places, food, and transportation were all three benefits of using the railroad. The ones who provided these benefits to slaves along the way were called conductors and the slaves themselves were usually called passengers. The conductors administered safety for the passengers by hiding them in their homes and accommodating them with valuable food and shelter.2 Hiding slaves was extremely dangerous and if one were caught they would undergo brutal punishment such as being hung, beaten, or taken to jail. This being said the conductors were bravely putting their lives on the line to help others. Several important people were a big part of this movement such as Harriett Tubman, William Still, and John Parker. With the guidance of these leaders the slaves came up with secret forms of communication and sacrificed their lives in order to reach freedom. Many of the towns and cities that were involved in the Underground Railroad made up a region called the Borderland.4 The Borderland ran along the borders between free and slave states. (National Underground Railroad Freedom Center) Cincinnati, Oxford, and Richmond were three cities that were included in the route. It is very common in todays society that
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people believe the Underground Railroad routes only ran through America. However, there were also several routes that ran from the South into Mexico and the Caribbean. Many of the routes up North also went into Canada as well. Due to their environment, swamps were ideal locations along these routes. The swamps had large amounts of vegetation and were difficult to travel through, which made them less appealing to slave hunters. Connecting with Virginia, the Great Dismal Swamp was approximately 112,000 acres of land. (Great Dismal Swamp) This swamp, along with many other distinct hiding areas, was the key to safety. Yet following these routes was not the only obstacle. Finding out what they were was the first step to success. The paths and secrets of the Underground Railroad had to be kept quiet due to the danger of a slave owner or hunter finding out and putting a stop to it.5 It was illegal for slaves to know how to read or write so they had to be very careful in how they communicated.6 Owners did not want their slaves to be knowledgeable of what was going on in the world so they wouldnt get any ideas. Still, slaves came up with quilt patterns and song in order to get their messages all across America. 7 The patterns on the quilts supposedly contained different patterns, stitches, and knotting tactics to convey things such as: map routes and the distances between safe houses.8 (Underground Railroad Quilt Code) In addition to the quilts, another form of communication was through the power of song.9 Two popular songs were Wade In The Water and Follow The Drinking Gourd. The lyrics of Wade In The Water instructed people to wade through any type of water they encountered in order to wash away their scent so that the hunting dogs could no longer track them. Follow The Drinking Gourd, the message behind this song was for the slaves to follow the points of the big dipper, which led to the North Star. Following routes and singing songs may sound easy but there were many risks and challenges every slave ran into. 10
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Jolley There were several different levels of punishment that slaves were forced to face. While

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some were worse than others, they all left physical and mental scars. Many slave owners would kick and slap their slaves around before the slaves could even think about running away; just to show the slaves who was boss and to forewarn them that the consequences would be far worse if they got caught trying to escape.12 The most typical and original form of punishment was whipping. Whipping normally consisted of the slaves being tied to a tree or something for of support while their owners lashed their backs fifty to one hundred times with a long whip.13 Sadly, whipping was not that bad for many slaves because they had become immune to the pain it brought. Another punishment for trying to run away was holding the slaves under water until they got as close to drowning, as their bodies would allow. (Slaves Punishment) However, the most brutal physical form of punishments that slaves received was amputations of body parts. When runaway slaves were retrieved back to their owners they would hire someone to cut off a slaves ear, finger, toe, arm, leg, etc.14 Consequently, the amputees often ended up with serious infections. These punishments originated in England and soon became illegal, though many slave owners still took part in this dehumanizing punishments even after they were outlawed.15 (Slaves Punishment) On the contrary, some owners preferred a less physical, but more mental approach. Instead of hurting their slaves physically by hitting or whipping they would lock them in a room or cage alone for weeks at a time. Some may see this as better than whipping, though it caused many of the slaves to become delusional, making all of their judgments irrational. Many slaves died from all these different types of punishments, but to the slaves there was still one punishment that was by far the worst. This punishment was being sold from their

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family. Slaves knew that if they got taken from their families that they may never see them again and that brought more pain than any beating, amputation, or caging could. Many important people played roles in helping slaves completely turn their lives around and find freedom. Harriett Tubman, a former slave herself, is a prime example of a person who helped other slaves to a better life.16 When Harriett was only twelve years old her master hit her on the head with a brick causing her to sporadically have black outs for the rest of her life.17 Though she didnt allow this traumatic injury to hold her back in life. Harriett knew she had, had enough with living through this pain and decided nobody else should have to endure it either. In 1850, Harriett made her first rescue. She rescued her sister and two nieces.18 By 1857 she had rescued her entire family, one of the biggest accomplishments of her life, in her eyes. (Harriett Tubman) It is said that throughout Harrietts career as a conductor on the Underground Railroad that she helped far more than three hundred slaves to freedom. William Still, appointed secretary of Pennsylvania Abolition Society of 1847, was another important conductor of the Underground Railroad. (Spartacus Educational) Still was the first black man to join the society and was able to provide first hand experience on slavery.19 Still was a very successful man who established his own coal business in Philadelphia, making him less likely to be accused of helping any slaves try to escape.20 Stills house along the Underground Railroad was used as a hiding place and shelter for 649 slaves. (Spartacus Educational) Similarly, John Parker was a slave who was sold from his mother at the young age of eight. Growing up without his family, made John become very independent, leading to his success. When he was of age he bought himself out of slavery. He earned a lot of money from being a craftsman, that made him not only successful but free as well. Parker was known for
Caroline Jolley 4/24/12 10:16 AM Comment: Added in this transition word Caroline Jolley 4/24/12 10:10 AM Comment: I completely changed the sentence structure of the last part of this paragraph. Caroline Jolley 4/24/12 10:06 AM Comment: Took out the sentence Runaway slaves punishments were so harsh that it would be impossible for them to go about it alone. Caroline Jolley 4/24/12 10:09 AM Comment: Removed the sentence Harrietts original name was Arminta Rose until after she became free decided to take her mothers name.

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being one of the most daring slave rescuers of his time. He kept records of the hundreds of slaves that he guided to freedom. (John Parker) Though once he started his family he decided to destroy those records for the safety of his wife and kids. All three of these people: Harriett Tubman, William Still, and John Parker were only a few of the many people who worked as conductors on the Underground Railroad, risking not only their lives but also their loved ones. These people are still honored today for all the blood shed and tears they went through to help others get to freedom. 21 During the 1800s over 100,000 enslaved people sought freedom by using the resources provided by the Underground Railroad. This is a prime example in history that supports the quote: united we stand, divided we fall.22 If it werent for all of the slaves who had the courage to stand up for their freedom and all of the people of the Underground Railroad to support this courage, slavery, possibly could still be going on today. 23

1 Slaves were held against their will and the making of the Underground Railroad was about the only thing that helped them escape. 2 Conductors could be anybody who helped slaves escape. They didnt just have to be people who provided shelter. They could help by simply keeping their mouths shut when being asked about runaway slaves by slave owners. 3 There were many other important people during this time that were involved with the Underground Railroad. These were just the three I decided to talk about. 4 They had to have a steady route in order to help everyone. There was not enough communication to let everyone know when the route had changed. 5 This is what makes the Underground Railroad so interesting. It was a secret event that literally changed the world. 6 People didnt think it was right for slaves to have the benefit of knowing how to read and write because of their color, but also because if they learned these basic essentials it was possible for them to become smarter than the white people. 7 The slaves coming up with the songs and quilts ideas actually did make them smarter than their owners. Learning this way of communication was much different but was beneficial and the only way the slaves knew how to become free.

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8 The knowledge of the quilt patterns took a while for all to know because the only type of communication to tell one another was by ear and they had to be very careful when doing so. 9 Communicating through the power of song was more known than the quilt idea because even if neighbor slaves couldnt see the quilts they could hear other slaves singing the words to their freedom. 10 Slaves could get in trouble for singing and quilting just depending on their owners. Some slave owners wouldnt allow singing therefore the slaves sang only in the middle of the nights and very quietly. 11 Slave owners would do about anything to have their slaves retrieved. Their plantations couldnt survive without them, technically they NEEEDED their slaves. 12 Slave owners wanted their slaves to be scared to runaway because the owners themselves were scared they would run away. There is a since of pride in there to. If an owner can keep his slave everybody knows he is the dominant one, but when a slave gets away the owner can come somewhat embarrassed. 13Whipping is known as the most original and sometimes that would be just the beginning of a slaves punishment. Their backs would be sliced to the bone, imagine going through much more after that. 14 Not many slave owners would do this to their slaves because it could affect the production of their work on the plantation. 15 Even though these punishments were outlawed I find it hard to believe that a slave owner would get into much trouble if they were caught committing these punishments. 16 Harriet Tubman is one of the most popular and widely known contributors of the Underground Railroad. 17 Harriett used her own anger from her life as a slave and put it to used by helping others escape. 18 Harriett knew she had family that were still out there being mistreated, set a goal and quickly accomplished it. 19 Being the first black man he allowed others in the group to understand first hand on what being a slave was really like. 20 His success showed other slaves that it was possible, you just couldnt give up. 21 There are many other people today that are still being recognized after all these years for the work they put into the Underground Railroad. 22 This quote is perfect for this historical event because it shows how people all over the world worked to make something happen and succeeded. 23 The Underground Railroad will never be forgotten because of its huge impact on hundreds of thousands of lives.

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Citations

"Great Dismal Swamp." Great Dismal Swamp. N.p., 16 02 2012. Web. 22 Feb 2012. http://www.fws.gov/northeast/greatdismalswamp/ Harriett Tubman, People of the Underground Railroad." Harriet Tubman. Smithsonian Institution Affiliations, n.d. Web. 22 Feb 2012. <http://www.freedomcenter.org/undergroundrailroad/history/people/Harriet-Tubman/>. John Parker, People of the Underground Railroad." John Parker. smithsonian Institution Affiliations, n.d. Web. 22 Feb 2012. <http://www.freedomcenter.org/underground-railroad/history/people/JohnParker/>. "Owen Sound's Black History." Underground Railroad Quilt Code. City of Owen Sound, n.d. Web. 22 Feb 2012. <http://www.osblackhistory.com/quilts.php>. "Pathways to Freedom." Maryland & the Underground Railroad. Maryland Public Television, n.d. Web. 15 Feb 2012. <http://pathways.thinkport.org/about/>. "Routes Along The Underground Railroad." National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. Smithsonian

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Institution Affiliations, 2012. Web. 22 Feb 2012. "The Underground Railroad." Slaves Punishment. Oracle Education Foundation, 06 2012. Web. 22 Feb 2012. <http://library.thinkquest.org/5643/>. "William Still." Spartacus Educational. N.p., 21 10 2012. Web. 22 Feb 2012. <http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USASstill.htm>.