The Role of Washington County, Ohio in the Success of the Underground Railroad
Gone, gone, --sold and gone
To the rice-swamps dank and lone,
From Virginia's hills and waters, --
Woe is me, my stolen daughters!"
(Whittier in Hamilton, pg. 105)
Families torn apart, humans sold on auction blocks, using humans for animal labor. These tragedies along with the words of the Quaker poet John Whiittier are just the beginning when trying to explain the motivation for abolitionists helping to free slaves.
The Underground Railroad was a path to safety and freedom for thousands of slaves before the Civil War. Escaping from the chains, confinement and abuse of slavery was no easy task and it took the cooperation of many people to make escape possible. The anti-slavery movement created this path to guide and protect escaped slaves on their way to Canada, the freedom land. Many slaves traveled through Ohio on their journey and were assisted by Ohio residents. My research paper will answer the question: What role did Washington County, Ohio, play in the success of the Underground Railroad?
Limitations and Delimitations
While there were many states, slaves and abolitionists involved in the Underground Railroad, certain restrictions must be placed on the research. The research in this paper will only cover four stations and their conductors from Washington County, Ohio. The paper will take you on a trip through this county from a slaves point of view. Although the history and origin of slavery will not be covered in this paper, the feelings and thoughts of the slaves on their journeys will be depicted.
Fugitive slaves, or runaway slaves, were fleeing a life of hardship and confinement for a life of h...
... middle of paper ...
...hat even bloodhounds will not scent out (Cosner, pg. 85).
WORKS CITED
Hamilton, Virginia. Many Thousand Gone . New York: Scholastic, Inc, 1993.
Blockson, Charles L. The Underground Railroad . New York: Prentice Hall, 1982.
Cosner, Sharon. The Underground Railroad . New York: Venture, 1991.
DuBois, W.E.B. The Souls of Black Folk . New York: Penguin Books, 1989.
Burke, Henry R. Journeys on the Underground Railroad . Marietta, OH: The Underground Railroad Research Center, 1995.
Douglas, Fredrick. Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglas, An American Slave . New York: Penguin Classics, 1986.
"Underground Railroad." World Book Encyclopedia . 1992 ed.
"Underground Railroad." Encyclopedia Americana . 1972 ed.
Burke, Henry R. Personal Interview. 22 October 1996.
Burke, Henry R. E-mail to Author. 18 November 1996.
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