There are many instances of cruelty and brutality mentioned (like being 'peeled open by a whip'). The Pulitzer Prize-winning historian also reveals people who assisted the escapees, especially white abolitionist Sydney Howard Gay, and how the Civil War helped push America to emancipation.Physical and psychological abuses of slavery are a central theme. It explores the formation of the New York Vigilance Committee (an early iteration of the Underground Railroad). Related: Black Patriots and Loyalists: An Untold Story of the Revolutionary WarĮric Foner’s Gateway to Freedom traces the inchoate stages of the Underground Railroad from 1820 to 1830. The city’s freemen collaborated with white abolitionists to safeguard fugitives. Slave catchers and kidnappers roamed the city, capturing free African Americans-primarily children-and sending them south for the slave trade. New York was home to the North’s biggest free Black community. The issue of fugitive slaves played a vital role in bringing about the Civil War, which would not have occurred without the actions of African American slaves who wanted to escape to freedom, and the northerners who defied the law to help them on their quest. Related: 10 African American History Books Every American Should Read If you want to know more about the Underground Railroad, the books below will give you more details about the escape routes taken by African Americans before emancipation and the experiences of the people organizing said routes. For instance, if you stay at or visit Philadelphia, you can see the Johnson House, which still looks the same today as it did in 1768. Today, it’s still possible to see Underground Railroad safe houses. The system was aided by abolitionists and allies who wanted to see slavery end. Enslaved Black Americans utilized the Underground Railroad primarily to escape into free northern states and Canada. The network’s allies also used railroad terminology to communicate in secret. The term “railroad” was used due to the fact that the railroad was a new transport system able to whisk people away quickly, just as the Underground Railroad did. In reality, it was a network of people-encompassing all different religions and races-offering secret routes, shelter, and aid to help slaves escape from the South in the early to mid-19th century.

There are many misconceptions about this topic, one of them being that the Underground Railroad was an actual railroad. Most Americans have heard about the Underground Railroad, but it remains a poorly understood historical event by the general population.

The underground railroad book