Dear Everyone,

I have taken time to reflect on some recent disagreements concerning the Underground Railroad. The problem arose because many of us felt obligated to report our Underground Railroad research, without a clear definition of the Underground Railroad. Now that the history of the Underground Railroad is finally getting attention, and likely to get into school text books, it seems necessary to define our topics.

The overall subject is African American History. “Resistance to Enslavement” is a part of African American History. The "Flight from Enslavement“, Slave Rebellions is one part of the of the Resistance to Enslavement. The “Underground Railroad” is a distinct part of the “Flight from Enslavement.

Flight from enslavement began in the English Colonies of North America during the early 1600s when Africans were first brought to Virginia. It is fair to say that there probably was not much group planning involved in these type of escapes. Depending upon any number of circumstances, individual enslaved persons escaped when the opportunity or the necessity arose. These type of escapes are known to have occurred wherever there were enslaved African Americans. The numbers of successes and failures of these endeavors were not well documented, but the Henry “Box” Jackson may be a good example.

The Underground Railroad was organized, but not a formal organization in sense of the Abolitionist or Anti-Slavery Societies were. The Underground Railroad began around 1793, shortly after the birth of the United States. The goal of the Underground Railroad was helping fugitive slaves reach a safe haven in Canada. People who participated in Underground Railroad activity were enslaved people (i.e. plantation slaves and urban slaves), “free” blacks and whites who were sympathetic to the plight of enslaved African Americans.

Underground Railroad activists helped fugitive slaves by helping them elude their captors (i.e. slave owner’s, bounty hunters and reward seekers). People participating in Underground Railroad activity were violating the Federal Fugitive Slave Law of 1793 and the 1850 version, so their activity had to be kept secret in order to protect the fugitive slaves they were helping to allude capture, and to protect themselves from prosecution.
We can correctly say that all Underground Railroad activists were Abolitionists, but not all Abolitionists were Underground Railroad activists.

Benefits defining the of topics within the spectrum of African American history and genealogy will be the accuracy of material that eventually gets into the education system!

Thanks to All,
Henry Burke