Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad was a secret network of abolitionists who helped African Americans escape from enslavement in the American south to free northern states to Canada. Any enslaved person who reached Upper Canada became free upon arrival, a small number of enslaved African Americans in search of freedom began to enter Canada, primarily unassisted. The Underground Railroad was not an actual railroad and it did not actually run on railway tracks. It was a complex, furtive network of people and safe houses that helped persons enslaved in Southern plantations reach free soil in the North.

The abolitionists were committed to human rights and equality. Railroad terminology and symbols were adopted to cover the activities of the network and to keep the public and slaveholders in the dark. Those who helped escaping slaves in their journey were called “conductors.” They guided fugitives along points of the Underground Railroad, using various ways of transportation over land or by water. The terms “passengers,” “cargo,” “package” and “freight” referred to escaped slaves. Passengers were delivered to “stations” or “depots,” which were safe houses. Stations were located in various cities and towns, known as “terminals.” These places of temporary refuge could sometimes be identified by lit candles in their windows or by strategically placed lanterns in the front yard. While an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 freedom seekers came to Canada during the last decades of enslavement in the US, the decade 1850­­–60 alone saw 15,000 to 20,000 fugitives reach the Province of Canada when it became the main terminus of the Underground Railroad.

The Underground Railroad is important to Canada because it was a safe place during the era that enslavement was legal. Canada was the place everyone wanted to go. Canada meant freedom. This issue was ended in 1865 when the US constitution banned slavery. I’m a really big advocate for ending slavery around the world and I think that the Underground Railroad was an important step to help stop enslavement in the US and Canada. Although there is plenty of slavery still going on around the world, 1865 was a critical year for improving African Americans future.