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00:29Dear Tim and Moby, what can you tell me about the Underground Railroad?
00:34Your friend, Beau.
00:36Hey, Beau.
00:37The Underground Railroad wasn't a subway or anything like that.
00:40It was a network of escape routes and hideouts set up during the 19th century.
00:45African Americans used it to flee the slave-holding states of the South.
00:50The underground part meant that they traveled in complete secrecy.
00:54And railroad came from the code language they used in communications.
00:58Like conductors for the people who helped runaways escape.
01:02Passengers or baggage for those who were fleeing slavery.
01:06And stations for the homes and other places where they'd hide.
01:10Tens of thousands of men, women, and children escaped to freedom on the Underground Railroad.
01:16Most settled in northern states and Canada, while some went west or farther south.
01:22Life wasn't easy in a lot of these places.
01:26Runaways faced racism just about everywhere they settled.
01:30But they had gained their freedom.
01:32Some joined groups of abolitionists, people committed to ending slavery.
01:37The Quakers, a Christian organization, were some of the earliest abolitionists.
01:41One of their central beliefs is that all people are equal.
01:46I know, but back in the 1800s, that was a pretty radical idea.
01:51It took a broad range of people to get support for the abolitionist cause.
01:55Like Frederick Douglass, who'd escaped slavery as a young man.
01:58He wrote and spoke with passion about the cruelty of owning human beings.
02:03Sojourner Truth, once enslaved herself, was another fearless crusader.
02:08When someone threatened to burn down a hall where she was scheduled to talk, she replied,
02:13Then I will speak upon the ashes.
02:16White abolitionists like William Lloyd Garrison and Henry Ward Beecher were equally passionate.
02:22And religious groups besides the Quakers got involved too.
02:25All of these people worked tirelessly to end slavery and help runaways build new lives.
02:31As the abolitionist movement grew, the Underground Railroad picked up steam.
02:36Routes expanded, and new ones opened up heading to Mexico and the Caribbean.
02:42The path to freedom often meant going long distances by foot, carrying everything you owned.
02:48But people also had to stow away on boats, wagons, and trains.
02:53Whatever it took to escape a life of slavery.
02:56One man, Henry Box Brown, even shipped himself from Virginia to Pennsylvania.
03:02An abolitionist shop owner helped him hide in a wooden cargo box.
03:06He spent over a day inside, before it was safely reopened in Philadelphia.
03:12The journey wasn't easy for anyone, and could stretch over a thousand miles.
03:16Passengers avoided main roads and traveled mostly at night.
03:20They often had to duck into swamps or forests to avoid being seen and captured.
03:25Those who helped them were also at risk.
03:27You could be thrown in jail for giving runaways food or shelter.
03:31Despite the danger, some folks took on even bigger roles in the Underground Railroad.
03:36They personally guided passengers between stations, taking them from one stop to the next.
03:42These were the railroad's conductors.
03:44The majority were African Americans already living freely in the North.
03:48Harriet Tubman is the most well-known.
03:51She was born into slavery in Maryland, but escaped to Pennsylvania when she was a young woman.
03:56Tubman helped more than 100 people make it North.
03:59Another important conductor was William Still.
04:02He kept detailed records of the nearly 650 people he helped save.
04:07Still used these stories to publish a book about their experiences.
04:11That's one reason we know so much about the Underground Railroad.
04:14No, slave owners weren't too happy about losing the people they viewed as their property.
04:20They resented Northerners for interfering in their business,
04:24and were especially outraged at states that protected runaways.
04:28Federal regulations said that any escapees had to be returned.
04:33In the eyes of the law, they were like stolen property.
04:36But several states passed laws making it illegal to arrest them.
04:40Other states gave runaways the right to jury trials and free legal help.
04:44Often, juries would refuse to convict, and the men and women would go free.
04:49So Southerners pushed the federal government to pass the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850.
04:54Anyone in law enforcement who didn't arrest a runaway would have to pay a big fine,
04:59and people who sheltered or helped them could be imprisoned.
05:03The law infuriated Northern abolitionists.
05:06Most continued to help African Americans make it to Canada,
05:09even though they now faced serious consequences.
05:12The slavery issue ripped the country apart, dividing North and South.
05:17In Kansas, the dispute spilled over into armed combat,
05:20and in 1861, the conflict finally exploded into the Civil War.
05:25You can learn more about that in our Civil War Causes movie.
05:29You can learn more about that in our Civil War Causes movie.
05:33Hey, here's our train.
05:36You may want to stand aside.
05:43Cause, uh, that.