History And Geography Of
The Underground Railroad
Part 2 Runaways and the Abolition Movement In the British North America and later the United States, antislavery sentiment flourished during the revolutionary period, but faded slightly by the beginning of the early 19th century. The call to end human bondage compelled freed African Americans and Quakers to form abolition societies such as the American Anti-Slavery Society and the New England Anti-Slavery Society in the North. Moreover, churches such as African Methodist Episcopal, Baptist, African Methodist Episcopal Zion, Presbyterian, and Methodist as well as Black fraternal organizations and social clubs played key roles in calling for emancipation and human rights. The antislavery movement played a primary role in assisting runaways to freedom. Abolitionists were crucial to the operations of the underground, but not all of them participated in or sanctioned its activities. Occasionally, African American and White abolitionists worked jointly to aid the runaway. Yet for the most part, the African American abolitionist played a key role in underground activities. Since most African American abolitionists were former bondsmen, they usually took a personal interest in helping loved ones or anyone who wanted to gain freedom. Their work contributed to the success of the Underground Railroad. Origins of the Underground Railroad In 1831, the popularity of the railroad train coupled with legendary flights of certain runaways introduced the name for the underground movement. Supposedly, the term Underground Railroad originated when an enslaved runaway, Tice Davids, fled from Kentucky and may have taken refuge with John Rankin, a White abolitionist, in Ripley, Ohio. Determined to retrieve his property, the owner chased Davids to the Ohio River, but Davids suddenly disappeared without a trace, leaving his owner bewildered and wondering if the slave had "gone off on some underground road." The success of Davids' escape soon spread among the enslaved on southern plantations (Stein 1981: 5þ10; Hamilton 1993: 53-56). | |
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