"I was the conductor of the Underground Railroad for eight years, and I can say what most conductors can't say; I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger." - Harriet Tubman, one of many who focused their lives to helping slaves find freedom. If you were a slave looking for freedom in the 1800's, the Underground Railroad would have been your best choice. You will be informed on how the railroad started even before the 1800's and how the railroad was successful. You will also be informed about some important figures in the history of the Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad was not legitimately a railroad nor was it underground. It was called the Underground Railroad to avoid suspicion of the route to freedom. …show more content…
It was never spoken of straight forward. The secret railroad operated quite openly in areas where abolitionism was strong. Fugitive slaves were called passengers. Routes were called lines. Rest areas were called stations. People who helped slaves find their way were called conductors. "Runaways were helped by at least three to four thousand conductors through the out the years" (Crew). Some slaves began to runaway early on and some continued to runaway up until the point civil war began. It was very courageous for a slave to runaway and avoid being captured while traveling across the United States to reach the Canadian border. "It was a risky chance for a slave to manage to slip through showing documentation of status upon taking transportation" (Rosen). First slaves to run off were young, healthy and had an idea to help guide them. Some also had help from people who were willing to risk their lives to help a slave get to freedom. "If successful, the runaways might never see their families or loved ones again" (Crew). If caught running away punishment would be brutal. "Slave owners sought to make examples of fugitives punishment a way of discouraging others from trying to get free" (Crew). The decision to runaway was not easy for a slave. Slaves were in charge of planning the most important part, their own escape plot, some had help from others. "Once a slave escaped they had to stay out of sight- roads and …show more content…
One of the many who helped slaves was John Fairfield who came from a family that owned slaves. Being in a family who was for slavery is how John started to develop his hatred towards slavery. He got involved with the Underground Railroad after helping a slave friend escape to Canada. Afterwards other African Americans would look for him and pay him to help relatives and friends escape. As a conductor John also hid his identity. He lied about who he was to help fugitives across the Canadian border. To gain the trust of whites John often passed to be a slave holder or a slave trader. He once successfully helped twenty eight fugitives at once into the North. Throughout twelve years John helped many slaves such as, Levi coffin who was an abolitionist that also helped many slaves. Levi Coffin was about fifteen years old when he began working with the Underground Railroad. He is also known as president of the Underground Railroad. Levi along with his wife Catherine are thought to have helped free more than three thousand slaves over the years. Together they helped runaway slaves providing food, shelter and clothing. Their home, located in Fountain City, Indiana was used as a station. Because of the location, three of the Underground Railroad routes intersected so their home became know as the Grand Central station. It is now a National Historic Landmark. "To thousands of escaped slaves, an eight bedroom