It should be remembered that this network was not operated by any one individual or group, nor did everyone, even recognized Abolitionists, want to help escaping slaves. In some areas of the country different terminology was used such as "the freedom train" or "the gospel train." In Ohio, the Underground Railroad was the most commonly used term by the 1850s. Of course, at the time, these code words were not known outside the network. People providing financial resources for these activities were called stockholdersĪs physical railroads became more widespread, using the same terminology associated with the railroad to the activities associated with the Underground Railroad allowed those actively involved to communicate openly without fear of being handed over to the authorities by someone overhearing the conversation. People helping the escaping slaves, but not guiding them, were called agents Guides leading the escaping slaves were called conductors Hiding places or safe houses were called stations The term railroad was used because those people involved in the activities used terms commonly associated with railroads, to describe different aspects of their activities. The term Underground was used because this activity of helping escaping slaves was against the law and therefore these activities had to be concealed. There was of course, no railroad with the Underground Railroad, nor was it under ground. For example, the Internet was around in the 1980s, but most people were not familiar with this technology until much later. Prior to that, information about railroads was not wide-spread. It's not clear when the term Underground Railroad was first used, but sometime around the 1830s is when actual railroads first started becoming a form of transportation in the country. While the Pennsylvania Quakers were largely responsible for initiating the abolitionist movement, the Ohio Quakers seemed to be more directly involved in actually moving escaping slaves on their way north and freedom in particular those fleeing slaves coming from Virginia. Ohio also had a large Quaker population, especially in the east and southeast portions of the state. Of all the states involved in these underground networks, Ohio was the closest state to Canada with only about 250 miles or less from anywhere along the Ohio River to Lake Erie and freedom. That amounted to more than 400 miles of border between slave-state and free-state. First Ohio was bordered by 2 slave states: Virginia and Kentucky. That network became known as the Underground Railroad.Īlthough there were Underground Railroad networks throughout the country, even in the South, Ohio had the most active network of any other state with around 3000 miles of routes used by escaping runaways. In fact, most of the people on the network only knew a few of the other members to help protect everyone's identity. It was under these conditions that caused abolitionists to form secretive networks that could help escaping slaves move along a network that was neither advertised nor written. Pro abolitionists speaking at local rallies could often turn the event into a hostile conflict. This would be especially true in the lower half of the state where citizens were more likely to be former residents of Virginia or Kentucky or be descendents of family from these states. This made life extremely difficult even in a free-state like Ohio.Īlmost anywhere in Ohio, in almost any community, you could almost count that about half of the population would be pro-slavery, and the other half anti-slavery. Adding to this were rewards paid by plantation owners to freelance bounty hunters for slaves that were returned. Later Congress added to that ordinance a law that made it a federal crime to give aid or harbor escaping slaves that could be punished by severe fines or even imprisonment. When Congress established the Northwest Ordinance in 1787, one of the provisions forbid slavery in any new future state admitted to the Union, north of the Ohio River. No fugitive living in Oberlin was ever returned to bondage and has been referred to as "The Town that Started the Civil War." Underground Railroad in Ohio Oberlin was a key junction on the Underground Railroad that connected 5 different routes escaping slaves could have taken. Above is a monument created by Cameron Armstrong on the campus of Oberlin College that symbolizes the emergence of the Underground Railroad in Ohio.
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