Underground Railroad/Harriet Tubman

Slaves, such as the one pictured above, fled slavery in the South

in hopes of finding a new life as free men in the North.

The Underground Railroad was a well-organized system utilized by runaway slaves to escape the South into the North.  This organization became legendary during the 1830's by assisting thousands of slaves to escape to the North.  Members of the Underground Railroad, called "conductors," sheltered and fed runaway slaves as they led them North.  These conductors led the slaves to Northern states or Canada and provided them with money to begin their new life.  Other members of this organization, many African American, made trips into the South to guide slaves along the Underground Railroad.  Among these guides, Harriet Tubman was the most famous.  Harriet Tubman was an escaped slave from Maryland.  Another notable person along this path to freedom was Levi Coffin, a Quaker from North Carolina.  Coffin allowed an estimated 2,000 African Americans to stay at his house.  He later moved to Ohio, and allowed another 1,300 slaves to stay at that home.

Southern planters were angered by the Underground Railroad because it allowed their slaves to escape more easily.  They were especially angered that members of the Underground Railroad consisted of people from both the North and the South.