THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD Nancy Allen rourke educational media Scan for Related Titles and Teacher Resources
Chapter 1 AN UNUSUAL NAME The Underground Railroad was not underground and it was not a railroad It was a system of people who helped slaves escape People in the Underground Railroad provided food clothing transportation and safe places for fugitive or runaway slaves to stay No one really knows how the Underground Railroad got the name One legend credits a slave catcher who was chasing a slave in the 1830s When the slave quickly slipped out of sight the catcher said the slave must have traveled on a secret railroad under the ground Underground also means secret People secretly worked in the Underground Railroad 4
In the mid-1800s railroads were becoming popular ways to travel in the United States So people used railroad terms to identify parts of the Underground Railroad system Homes and churches were stations on the Underground Railroad where fugitive slaves could hide and rest Fugitive slaves were called passengers Those who helped the slaves were called agents and those who guided them were conductors Station keepers were people who provided places for the slaves to stay as they traveled North to seek freedom The Milton House Inn built by Joseph Goodrich was used to hide and transport runaway slaves due to its close proximity to a well traveled transportation line Freedom Fact The Underground Railroad was not run by a single person or group The system was made up of many people secret routes meeting places and safe houses 5
