who were some of the people who helped on the underground railroad?

During the era of slavery, the Underground Railroad was a network of routes, places, and people that helped enslaved people in the American South escape to the North. People of the Underground Railroad in Maryland Use the links below to quick jump to a particular person: Harriet Tubman | Frederick Douglass | Thomas Garrett | William Still Samuel Burris More People » Harriet Tubman, who was born a slave near Cambridge, Maryland, was one of the most famous Underground Railroad conductors. William Jackson's house in Newton, Massachusetts, was a "station" on the Underground Railroad. Who was Harriet Tubman? This would help keep anyone from trying to infiltrate the Underground Railroad and finding out too much valuable information which could put slaves and those helping them in … Most of the “workers” on the Underground Railroad were white abolitionists. The people who helped support the escaping slaves wouldn’t know the entire routes, either—they would only know small portions of it. It was not an actual railroad, but it served the same purpose—it transported people long distances. Truth: In fact, most people who helped escaping slaves were free blacks or escaped slaves. She was known as the "Moses of Her People." In this sketch from the mid-1700s, slaves flee from Maryland to Delaware. Editor’s note: This article originally ran on Feb. 25, 1991. People on the underground railroad often used code words such as “drinking gourd” for the Big Dipper star constellation and the “Promised land” for Canada, where slavery was illegal and there were no laws allowing slave owners to travel into the country and catch escaped slaves. After making her own successful escape, she came back to … So many fugitive slaves came through his home that people renamed it “Grand Central Station.” Coffin’s reputation as a model citizen inspired other white people to become involved with the Underground Railroad. She was a Union spy and nurse during the Civil War. Those networks cut across regions, across religions and across races. Interview: Eric Foner, Author Of 'Gateway To Freedom' While writing his new book, historian Eric Foner relied on a recently discovered record of slaves' escapes. The Jacksons were abolitionists, people who worked to end slavery. How many trips on the Underground Railroad … Thanks to the Underground Railroad, thousands of fugitives were able to escape bondage in slave-holding states. One hero of the Underground Railroad was Levi Coffin, a Quaker who is said to have helped around 3,000 slaves gain their freedom. We need to see the Underground Railroad not as safe houses and tunnels, but as support networks of people. The most common route for people to escape was north into the northern United States or Canada, but some slaves in the deep south escaped to Mexico or Florida. the "railroad" part of the underground railroad was simply a … Today, the Jackson House is a museum with a large collection of historical objects and documents that are used for research into Newton's past.