• Reprint of a significant primary source on the Underground Railroad • Colorful information and anecdotes from the participants Originally published in 1883 and long out of print, this remarkable volume examines the Underground Railroad as it operated in southeastern Pennsylvania. Based on interviews with those directly involved in the escaped slave network, it tells the stories of freedom seekers, those who helped them, and the places they hid. A new introduction by Christopher Densmore places the book in its historical context and assesses the work in light of more recent scholarship.

Excerpt from History of the Underground Railroad in Chester and the Neighboring Counties of Pennsylvania It is with feelings of much gratification that he is able to present to the readers the portraits of many of the leading men and women who were actively engaged in the Underground Railroad, who dared to open their houses to the fugitive slave, and to do unto him as they would be done by. With the exception of a few cuts, furnished through the kindness of William Still, all have been engraved expressly for this work from the best likenesses in the possession of the families. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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A new interpretation of the Underground Railroad that places violence at the center of the story.

Includes detailed maps of the known routes and railroad sites. Organized in antebellum America to help slaves escape to freedom, the Underground Railroad was cloaked in secrecy and operated at great peril to everyone involved. The system was extremely active in Pennsylvania, with routes in all parts of the state.This book retraces those routes, discusses the large city networks, identifies the houses and sites where escapees found refuge, and records the names of the people who risked their lives to support the operation.

"Chester County was home to a diverse patchwork of religious communities, antislavery activists and free Black populations, all working to end the blight of slavery ... Author Mark Lanyon captures the rich history of antislavery activity that transformed Chester County into a vital region in the nation's fight for freedom."--Back cover.

Relates the exciting tales of the legendary Underground Railroad in Chester County, Pennsylvania, an area on the front lines of the antebellum struggle over slavery and black freedom. Examines the spectrum of opinion among Quakers, the prominence of black activists, and the interracial cooperation essential to the Underground Railroad's success.

The underground railroad - with its mysterious signals, secret depots, abolitionist heroes, and slave-hunting villains - has become part of American mythology. But legend has distorted much of the history of this institution, which Larry Gara carefully investigates in this important study. Gara show how pre-Civil War partisan propaganda, postwar reminiscences by fame-hungry abolitionists, and oral tradition helped foster the popular belief that a powerful secret organization spirited floods of slaves away from the South. In contrast to that legend, the slaves themselves had active roles in their own escapes from slave states. They carried out their runs to the North, receiving aid only after they had reached territory where they still faced return under the Fugitive Slave Law. Thus, The Liberty Line places fugitive slaves in their rightful position: the center of their struggle for freedom.