The use of symbols on the underground railroad: an interpretative perspective

The Underground Railroad was not underground, and it was not a railroad. According to legend, it got its name around 1831 when a slave named Tice Davids escaped from Kentucky to the free state of Ohio. His owner searched a long time, but never found him. The owner finally gave up, saying the slave must have escaped on “an underground road. ”The objective of this paper is to emphasize the use of symbols as means of communication to help runaways travel to Canada or elsewhere for freedom. Because of the nature of the topic, historicism appears to be the most appropriate theory applied. As a matter of fact, the Underground Railroad was made up of more than 3,200 people: blacks, whites, and American Indians. They offered food, shelter, and money to runaways. The Underground Railroad was used most from 1830 to 1860. It helped tens of thousands of slaves escape. Some went to the Northern states or to Canada. Others fled south to Mexico and the Caribbean. Because secrecy was very important on the Underground Railroad, it had its own secret language. Runaway slaves were called passengers, packages, or freight. The people leading slaves to freedom were conductors. Slaves were hidden in homes called stations, which were run by stationmasters. Anyone providing money or goods to help the railroad was called a stockholder. The conductors often used their own homes as stations. These stations were ten to twenty miles apart. The slaves were hidden in secret rooms in the attic or cellar. Sometimes hiding spaces were built inside fake cupboards. Other homes had bookcases that hid the stairs to the cellar. Outside, haystacks were used to cover up tunnels that took runaways to secret places. Barns often had false floors with some space below for a person to hide. Different signals let run aways know which houses were part of the Underground Railroad. Often, lighted candles or lanterns were used to mark stations. White bricks at the top of a chimney also meant a house was safe. When a slave arrived at a station, he could identify himself by giving a special knock, hooting like an owl, or using a password he had learned from a conductor. As an illegal system, the most suitable tools used were quilts, songs, disguise and other sign language to challenge slave masters and slave catchers. In 1863, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. This document freed the slaves in the rebelling Southern states. The Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution abolishes slavery in the United States. The Underground Railroad died.