“Conductors” was the code word for guides who helped the slaves escape from plantations and reach a station.
“Stations” or “depots” meant safe houses, and “station masters” meant the owners of those houses. “Tracks” stood for the predetermined routes that the abolitionists came up with.
One of the reasons for this misconception is likely the high usage of railway terminology to denote various aspects of the movement. There was no underground railway system in the world before 1863.
The phrase became so prevalent that even today, people mistakenly think there was an actual railway network underneath the ground for transporting escaped slaves. After the fugitive slaves entered a depot on that road no trace of them could be found.” In essence, they were “secretly passed from one depot to another” until they arrived at a destination where they were able to remain free. Abolitionist, preacher, and educator John Rankin believed the term “Underground Railroad” came into use “because they who took passage on it disappeared from public view as really as if they had gone into the ground. Under these political circumstances, the Underground Railroad movement couldn’t afford to function openly, as that would have put both the escapees and their helpers in mortal danger. Image Credit: The National Geographic Society This is widely regarded as one of the most unpopular laws in US history and often cited as one of the major reasons for the American Civil War. Still, in 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act became even more stringent, forcing the citizens and the governments of the Northern states to actively help the pursuing slave owners. To counter this, several Northern states introduced laws to protect their black citizens. Predictably, the law was greatly misused as many free men, women, and children were captured and labeled as escaped slaves and then taken to the Southern states. Even in the northern states, escaped slaves still faced the dangers of recapture due to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, which directed the Northern officials to collaborate with the Southern slave-owners or their associates while they look for the escaped slaves in the respective localities. Some chose to go to Mexico, where slavery was prohibited, or one of the Caribbean Islands not involved in the slave trade. Many traveled further north to Canada, where slavery had been practically discontinued since the early 19th century. They soon became the preferred destinations of escaped slaves from the South. During and after the American Revolutionary War, several Northern states, including Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York, began abolishing slavery. What the term actually denotes began to happen much before that. In reality, it was a network of secret routes and hiding spots and had nothing to do with a subterranean railway system.īut the railway analogy is not Whitehead’s invention. It depicts the Underground Railroad as a literal railway system that Cora and others use to escape to the free US states. But the show, just like the book, is existentially rooted in history. It’s the web adaptation of the critically acclaimed 2016 namesake novel by Colson Whitehead. No, ‘The Underground Railroad’ is not based on a true story. Is The Underground Railroad Based on a True Story? If you are wondering whether the show is based on actual events, here is what you need to know. The story it tells feels like something out of the pages of a history book, complete with a faithful depiction of culture, society, and racism in the American South in the 19th century. ‘The Underground Railroad’ is a poignant tale of human determination against seemingly insurmountable odds. As the story progresses, Caesar is killed, but Cora finds other companions, supporters among abolitionists, and freedmen and women in her pursuit of freedom.