Civil War Causes - The Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was a network of people, African American as well as white, offering shelter and aid to escaped enslaved people from the South. It developed as a convergence of several different clandestine efforts. The exact dates of its existence are not known, but it operated from the late 18th century to the Civil War, at which point its efforts continued to undermine the Confederacy in a less-secretive fashion.
Quaker Abolitionists
The Quakers are considered the first organized group to actively help escaped enslaved people. George Washington complained in 1786 that Quakers had attempted to “liberate” one of his enslaved workers.
In the early 1800s, Quaker abolitionist Isaac T. Hopper set up a network in Philadelphia that helped enslaved people on the run. At the same time, Quakers in North Carolina established abolitionist groups that laid the groundwork for routes and shelters for escapees.
The African Methodist Episcopal Church, established in 1816, was another proactive religious group helping fugitive enslaved people.
Fugitive Slave Act(s)
The Fugitive Slave Acts were a pair of federal laws that allowed for the capture and return of runaway enslaved people within the territory of the United States. Enacted by Congress in 1793, the first Fugitive Slave Act authorized local governments to seize and return escapees to their owners and imposed penalties on anyone who aided in their flight. Widespread resistance to the 1793 law led to the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which added more provisions regarding runaways and levied even harsher punishments for interfering in their capture. The Fugitive Slave Acts were among the most controversial laws of the early 19th century.
What Were the Fugitive Slave Acts?
Statutes regarding refugee slaves existed in America as early as 1643 and the New England Confederation, and slave laws were later enacted in several of the 13 original colonies.
Among others, New York passed a 1705 measure designed to prevent runaways from fleeing to Canada, and Virginia and Maryland drafted laws offering bounties for the capture and return of escaped enslaved people.
By the time of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, many Northern states including Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut had abolished slavery.
Concerned that these new free states would become safe havens for runaways, Southern politicians saw that the Constitution included a “Fugitive Slave Clause.” This stipulation (Article 4, Section 2, Clause 3) stated that, “no person held to service or labor” would be released from bondage in the event they escaped to a free state.
Fugitive Slave Act of 1793
Despite the inclusion of the Fugitive Slave Clause in the U.S. Constitution, anti-slavery sentiment remained high in the North throughout the late 1780s and early 1790s, and many petitioned Congress to abolish the practice outright.
Bowing to further pressure from Southern lawmakers—who argued the slave debate was driving a wedge between the newly created states—Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793.
This edict was similar to the Fugitive Slave Clause in many ways, but included a more detailed description of how the law was to be put into practice. Most importantly, it decreed that owners of enslaved people and their “agents” had the right to search for escapees within the borders of free states.
In the event they captured a suspected runaway, these hunters had to bring them before a judge and provide evidence proving the person was their property. If court officials were satisfied by their proof—which often took the form of a signed affidavit—the owner would be permitted to take custody of the enslaved person and return to their home state. The law also imposed a $500 penalty on any person who helped harbor or conceal escapees.
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 was immediately met with a firestorm of criticism. Northerners bristled at the idea of turning their states into a stalking ground for bounty hunters, and many argued the law was tantamount to legalized kidnapping. Some abolitionists organized clandestine resistance groups and built complex networks of safe houses to aid enslaved people in their escape to the North.
Refusing to be complicit in the institution of slavery, most Northern states intentionally neglected to enforce the law. Several even passed so-called “Personal Liberty Laws” that gave accused runaways the right to a jury trial and also protected free blacks, many of whom had been abducted by bounty hunters and sold into slavery.
Did you know? The passage of the Fugitive Slave Acts resulted in many free blacks being illegally captured and sold into slavery. One famous case concerned Solomon Northup, a freeborn black musician who was kidnapped in Washington, D.C. in 1841. Northup would spend 12 years enslaved in Louisiana before winning back his freedom in 1853.
Prigg v. Pennsylvania (1842)
The legality of Personal Liberty Laws was eventually challenged in the 1842 Supreme Court case Prigg v. Pennsylvania. The case concerned Edward Prigg, a Maryland man who was convicted of kidnapping after he captured a suspected slave in Pennsylvania.
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Prigg, setting the precedent that federal law superseded any state measures that attempted to interfere with the Fugitive Slave Act.
Despite decisions like Prigg v. Pennsylvania, the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 remained largely unenforced. By the mid-1800s, thousands of enslaved people had poured into free states via networks like the Underground Railroad.
Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
Following increased pressure from Southern politicians, Congress passed a revised Fugitive Slave Act in 1850.
Part of Henry Clay’s famed Compromise of 1850—a group of bills that helped quiet early calls for Southern secession—this new law forcibly compelled citizens to assist in the capture of runaways. It also denied enslaved people the right to a jury trial and increased the penalty for interfering with the rendition process to $1,000 and six months in jail.
In order to ensure the statute was enforced, the 1850 law also placed control of individual cases in the hands of federal commissioners. These agents were paid more for returning a suspected runaway than for freeing them, leading many to argue the law was biased in favor of Southern slaveholders.
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was met with even more impassioned criticism and resistance than the earlier measure. States like Vermont and Wisconsin passed new measures intended to bypass and even nullify the law, and abolitionists redoubled their efforts to assist runaways.
The Underground Railroad reached its peak in the 1850s, with many enslaved people fleeing to Canada to escape U.S. jurisdiction.
Resistance also occasionally boiled over into riots and revolts. In 1851 a mob of antislavery activists rushed a Boston courthouse and forcibly liberated an escapee named Shadrach Minkins from federal custody. Similar rescues were later made in New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Repeal of the Fugitive Slave Acts
Widespread opposition to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 saw the law become virtually unenforceable in certain Northern states, and by 1860 only around 330 enslaved people had been successfully returned to their Southern masters.
Republican and Free Soil congressmen regularly introduced bills and resolutions related to repealing the Fugitive Slave Act, but the law persisted until after the beginning of the Civil War. It wasn’t until June 28, 1864, that both of the Fugitive Slave Acts were repealed by an act of Congress.
What Was the Underground Railroad?
The earliest mention of the Underground Railroad came in 1831 when enslaved man Tice Davids escaped from Kentucky into Ohio and his owner blamed an “underground railroad” for helping Davids to freedom.
In 1839, a Washington newspaper reported an escaped enslaved man named Jim had revealed, under torture, his plan to go north following an “underground railroad to Boston.”
Vigilance Committees—created to protect escaped enslaved people from bounty hunters in New York in 1835 and Philadelphia in 1838—soon expanded their activities to guide enslaved people on the run. By the 1840s, the term Underground Railroad was part of the American vernacular.
How the Underground Railroad Worked
Most of the enslaved people helped by the Underground Railroad escaped border states such as Kentucky, Virginia and Maryland.
In the deep South, the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 and then the subsequent Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 made capturing escaped enslaved people a lucrative business, and there were fewer hiding places for them. Fugitive enslaved people were typically on their own until they got to certain points farther north.
People known as “conductors” guided the fugitive enslaved people. Hiding places included private homes, churches and schoolhouses. These were called “stations,” “safe houses,” and “depots.” The people operating them were called “stationmasters.”
There were many well-used routes stretching west through Ohio to Indiana and Iowa. Others headed north through Pennsylvania and into New England or through Detroit on their way to Canada.
Who Ran the Underground Railroad?
Most Underground Railroad operators were ordinary people, farmers and business owners, as well as ministers. Some wealthy people were involved, such as Gerrit Smith, a millionaire who twice ran for president. In 1841, Smith purchased an entire family of enslaved people from Kentucky and set them free.
One of the earliest known people to help fugitive enslaved people was Levi Coffin, a Quaker from North Carolina. He started around 1813 when he was 15 years old.
Coffin said that he learned their hiding places and sought them out to help them move along. Eventually, they began to find their way to him. Coffin later moved to Indiana and then Ohio, and continued to help escaped enslaved people wherever he lived.
The Underground Railroad in New York City
For over 200 years, and leading up to the Civil War, most of New York City favored slavery because the region’s cotton and sugar industries depended on slave labor. During the colonial era, 41 percent of NYC’s households had slaves, compared to just six percent in Philadelphia and two percent in Boston. Eventually, after the state abolished slavery in 1827, the city became a hotbed of anti-slavery activism and a critical participant of the Underground Railroad, the network of secret churches, safe houses and tunnels that helped fugitive slaves from the south reach freedom. While some of these Underground Railroad sites no longer exist or have relocated, a few of the original structures can be visited today, including Brooklyn’s Plymouth Church and the Staten Island home of staunch abolitionist Dr. Samuel Mackenzie Elliott. Ahead, travel along the Underground Railroad with 15 known stops in New York City.
David Ruggles Boarding Home - 36 Lispenard Street, Soho, Manhattan
After arriving in New York from Connecticut at the age of 17, David Ruggles quickly became one of the most important anti-slavery activists in the country. In 1835, Ruggles helped found the New York Committee of Vigilance, an integrated group focused on protecting runaways and confronting slave catchers, called “blackbirders.” Ruggles is said to personally have helped as many as 600 fugitives, including Frederick Douglass, by sheltering them at his home on Lispenard Street. In his autobiography, Douglass wrote, “I had been in New York but a few days, when Mr. Ruggles sought me out, and very kindly took me to his boarding-house at the corner of Church and Lespenard Streets.”
Ruggles also ran a bookstore and library out of his home, distributing anti-slavery pamphlets and other reading materials. His original three-story townhouse was demolished and a La Colombe Coffee shop now sits at the same location, with a plaque honoring Ruggles and his efforts.
Rev. Theodore Wright House- 2 White Street, Tribeca, Manhattan
Theodore Wright, the first African American to attain a theological seminary in the U.S., was an active abolitionist and minister in New York City. In 1833, he became one of the founders of the American Anti-Slavery Society as well as the Vigilance Committee. Wright’s Tribeca home became a stop on the Underground Railroad. While there are few documents preserved, it is believed that Wright helped 28 men, women and children by bringing them food and a way to get to Albany. His original Dutch style house located at 2 White Street still exists, preserved as a New York City Landmark.
African Free Schools - 135-137 Mulberry Street, Chinatown, Manhattan
Founded by the pro-abolition New York Manumission Society in 1787 by Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, the African Free School educated children of slaves and free people of color. The schools, which grew to enroll 1,400 students in seven buildings, eventually became a part of the city’s public schools in 1834. In addition to educating black children, the school located on Mulberry Street served as a purported stop on the Underground Railroad.
African Society for Mutual Relief = 42 Baxter Street, Chinatown, Manhattan
The African Society for Mutual Relief was founded in 1808, soon after the state made it legal for black New Yorkers to organize. During a time when everything was segregated by race, like schools and graveyards, the society offered black people health insurance, life insurance and even assistance for burial costs in exchange for dues. If a society member died, their family received help from the group. Located in the Five Points neighborhood, the comprehensive organization served as a school, meetinghouse and a stop on the Underground Railroad. The building survived an anti-abolitionist riot in 1834, the Draft Riot in 1863 and multiple mob attacks. The location now serves as a state government office.
Downing’s Oyster House - 5 Broad Street, Financial District, Manhattan
As a free man, Thomas Downing opened one of the most famous oyster houses in all of New York, Downing’s Oyster House. Located on the corner of Broad Street and Wall Street, Downing served affluential bankers, politicians and socialites his raw, fried and stewed oysters. While Thomas served the rich and famous upstairs, his son, George, lead escaping slaves to the basement. Between 1825 and 1860, the father-son duo helped many fugitive slaves get to Canada. Thomas also helped create the all-black United Anti-Slavery Society of the City of New York and petitioned for equal suffrage for black men. On Downing’s death on April 10, 1866, the city’s Chamber of Commerce closed to honor him.
Colored Sailors’ Home - 330 Pearl Street, Financial District, Manhattan
An abolitionist named William Powell opened the Colored Sailors’ Home at the corner of Gold and John Streets in lower Manhattan. Powell provided black sailors food and shelter; the home also served as an employment center for sailors. The Sailors’ Home became a spot for anti-slavery activists to meet, as well as a place to hide fugitive slaves. Refugees from slavery were given food, shelter and then a disguise to prepare them for their next journey. According to Leslie Harris’ book, In the Shadow of Slavery: African Americans in New York City, Albro and Mary Lyons took over ownership of the Sailors’ Home after Powell left for Europe. Overall, Powell and the Lyons aided an estimated 1,000 fugitive slaves.
Mother AME Zion Church - 158 Church Street, Financial District, Manhattan
Opening in 1796 with a congregation of 100, Mother African Methodist Episcopal Zion became the first black church in New York State. Led by Minister James Varick, the church withdrew from the segregated Methodist Episcopal Church to appeal to a growing number of anti-slavery advocates. As a stop on the Underground Railroad, the church became known as the “Freedom Church.” It helped Frederick Douglass attain freedom and Sojourner Truth was a member. After New York made slavery illegal in 1827, the church focused its attention on the nationwide abolition movement. In 1925, the church relocated to its current Harlem location at 140-7 West 137th Street.
Five Points - Worth Street and Baxter Street, Chinatown, Manhattan
Five Points, a Lower Manhattan neighborhood once known for its notorious slums, was built on top of a swampy landfill. Poor newly freed slaves lived here, along with Irish and German immigrants. Interestingly, Five Points’ dwellers are credited with the creation of tap dance, an influence from both Irish and African American culture. And although it’s infamous for being riddled with crime- and disease, Five Points became home of many abolitionist groups, as well as many stops along the Underground Railroad.
The Shiloh Presbyterian Church - Frankfort Street and William Street, Financial District, Manhattan
Led by abolitionists Samuel Cornish, Theodore Wright and Henry Highland Garnet, the Shiloh Presbyterian Church became an essential stop along the Underground Railroad. Founded as the First Colored Presbyterian Church by Samuel Cornish in 1822, the congregation fought slavery together. Under Cornish’s direction, the church boycotted sugar, cotton and rice, all products derived from slave labor. The Shiloh Church relocated several times and can be found today on West 141st Street in Harlem.
Plymouth Church - 75 Hicks Street, Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn
While it was only founded 14 years before the start of the Civil War, Brooklyn’s Plymouth Church was known as the “Grand Central Depot” of the Underground Railroad. The first minister, Henry Ward Beecher, the brother of Uncle Tom’s Cabin author Harriet Beecher Stowe, hid fugitive slaves in the church’s basement through tunnel-like pathways. Members of the church also provided slaves shelter at their own homes. Beecher would host mock slave auctions to demonstrate the cruelty of them and also as a way to secure their freedoms.
His most famous auction involved a 9-year-old slave, a girl named Pinky. In front of a crowd of 3,000 people, Beecher picked up a ring, put it on the girl’s finger and said, “Remember, with this ring I do wed thee to freedom.” Plymouth Church, a National Historic Landmark within the Brooklyn Heights Historic District, remains one of the few active congregations in New York City still in its original Underground Railroad location.
Home of Abigail Hopper-Gibbons and James Sloan-Gibbons - 339 West 29th Street, Chelsea, Manhattan
In their Chelsea rowhouse, abolitionists Abigail Hopper-Gibbons and James Sloan-Gibbons hid runaway slaves and hosted meetings for anti-slavery advocates. Abby also started a small school for African-American children in her home. As a stop on the Underground Railroad, the couple’s home helped slaves from the south reach Canada. During the Draft Riots of 1863, the Gibbons’ home was attacked because of the family’s known anti-slavery beliefs. Many black people were injured, tortured and killed during the attacks. With some restoration, the landmarked home survived the riots, making it the only Manhattan Underground Railroad site to endure.
Brotherhood Synagogue - 28 Gramercy Park South, Gramercy Park, Manhattan
While it first opened its doors as a Quaker Meeting House in Gramercy Park, the building now is home to the Brotherhood Synagogue. For a century, the meeting house served the 20th Street Friends. Members of the group became active in the abolitionist movement, sheltering fugitive slaves on the building’s second floor. According to the synagogue, the tunnels underneath the building remain visible and accessible today.
Home of Dr. Samuel Mackenzie Elliot - 69 Delafield Place, Staten Island
Although designated a city landmark in 1967, the history of the Staten Island home of Dr. Samuel MacKenzie Elliot dates back much further. Elliot, who designed the eight-room Gothic Revival-style home in 1840, became a leader of the abolitionist movement in the state. The house on Dealafield Place was outfitted for slaves escaping the U.S.
Cobble Hill Carriage House - 20 Verandah Place, Cobble Hill, Brooklyn
A Cobble Hill carriage house with a storied past hit the market last October for nearly $4 million. The home at 20 Verandah Place, constructed in the 1840s, served as the home for servants and horses of wealthy homeowners. According to the current owners, the carriage house also served as a stop on the Underground Railroad.
Abolitionist Place - 227 Duffield Street, Downtown Brooklyn
An area of Downtown Brooklyn was a known center of anti-slavery activism in New York City and the block of Duffield Street between Fulton and Willoughby was co-named “Abolitionist Place” in 2007. While not many of the original structures from the 1800s remain on the block, a two-story redbrick building at 227 Duffield stands tall to this day. Prominent abolitionists Thomas and Harriet Truesdell lived at the home and historians believe Underground Railroad stops were found in many homes along the same block. The Plymouth Church, as well as Bridge Street AWME Church, the first black church in Brooklyn, were conveniently located nearby.
End of the Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad ceased operations about 1863, during the Civil War. In reality, its work moved above ground as part of the Union effort against the Confederacy.
Harriet Tubman once again played a significant part by leading intelligence operations and fulfilling a command role in Union Army operations to rescue the emancipated enslaved people.
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