Davids rushed to the Ohio River, which formed the border between the slave state of Kentucky and the free state of Ohio (Haskins 1). David’s master concluded that Tice had escaped on and “underground railroad.” The story spread about the escaped slave who had gained his freedom on an “underground railroad” (Haskins 2). The Underground Railroad was not literally a railroad that was underground; the term fit the way many slaves in the South made their way to the Free states of the North (Haskins 2). The term “underground railroad” first appeared in prints in the 1840’s. The fugitive slaves were referred to as “parcels” and “passengers,” and those who helped the fugitives in one way or another were called, “conductors” (Haskins 2). People who offered their homes as “depots” or “stations” were called, “stationmasters” (Haskins 2). No one knows exactly how many slaves tried to escape, or how many people tried to help them during the two-and-a-half centuries of slavery in the United States. In the early days, the Underground Railroad was a secret activity, and few written records were kept on it (Haskins 3). The names of most of the slaves who escaped, and the names of many people—black and white—who aided them are lost to history. Hundreds of stories have survived and they make a thrilling chapter in the long history of slavery and the attempts to fight it (Haskins
Davids rushed to the Ohio River, which formed the border between the slave state of Kentucky and the free state of Ohio (Haskins 1). David’s master concluded that Tice had escaped on and “underground railroad.” The story spread about the escaped slave who had gained his freedom on an “underground railroad” (Haskins 2). The Underground Railroad was not literally a railroad that was underground; the term fit the way many slaves in the South made their way to the Free states of the North (Haskins 2). The term “underground railroad” first appeared in prints in the 1840’s. The fugitive slaves were referred to as “parcels” and “passengers,” and those who helped the fugitives in one way or another were called, “conductors” (Haskins 2). People who offered their homes as “depots” or “stations” were called, “stationmasters” (Haskins 2). No one knows exactly how many slaves tried to escape, or how many people tried to help them during the two-and-a-half centuries of slavery in the United States. In the early days, the Underground Railroad was a secret activity, and few written records were kept on it (Haskins 3). The names of most of the slaves who escaped, and the names of many people—black and white—who aided them are lost to history. Hundreds of stories have survived and they make a thrilling chapter in the long history of slavery and the attempts to fight it (Haskins