Underground Railroad and Appalachia

Go deeper with "Runaway Railroad," an episode from "The History of American Slavery," a podcast series from Slate History. In this episode, the hosts tell the story of John Parker of Ripley, Ohio and explore the the complicated history of the Underground Railroad, starting with one of southern Ohio's most famous African American Underground Railroad conductors. This more in-depth podcast examines how the Underground Railroad worked and why the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 led the American people toward Civil War.

The Underground Railroad helped up to 100,000 enslaved people to freedom. It was America’s first civil rights movement, operated by Black and white people united in their abhorrence of slavery. But how was it established? Who were its passengers, and the people risking everything to assist them? And what part did it play in America’s descent into civil war?
This is a Short History of the Underground Railroad.

Written by Kate Simants. Special thanks to historian Fergus Bordewich, author of Bound for Canaan; and to public historian and lecturer Christopher Miller of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Centre in Cincinnati, Ohio.