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The Influence Of Eric Foner's Monograph On The Underground Railroad

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The Underground Railroad was one of the more popular ways slaves could escape from their bondage and obtain their freedom. Many people would not assume that New York City was an important station on the Underground Railroad. Eric Foner, a professor and prominent historian from Columbia University, has published a monograph about the Underground Railroad. His monograph, titled Gateway to Freedom: The Hidden History of the Underground Railroad describes how New York City “was a crucial waystation in the metropolitan corridor through which fugitive slaves made their way from the Upper South” (Foner, 2015, pg. 7). Foner also explains about how the fugitive slaves issue affected the coming of the Civil War and the national debate about it. …show more content…

Although most of his secondary sources came from history books, his primary resources came from the abolitionist newspapers, reports from the organizations, and the Record of Fugitives. Although most of the resources Foner uses applies to the abolitionist movement, the main idea of his monograph was how New York City “was a crucial waystation” for the Underground Railroad, and not necessarily about the other cities, such as Philadelphia and Boston (Foner, 2015, pg. 7). Others do not agree that New York City was crucial for the Underground Railroad. History states that “there were many well-used routes stretching west through Ohio to Indiana and Iowa [with] others… into New England… on their way to Canada” (“Underground Railroad,” n.d., para. 11). History does mention New England, but does not point out New York City, which might reference that it was not as crucial as Foner depicts it to be. Some little-known facts that Foner puts in his monograph can backed by others. An example of this is where Foner states that Torrey was credited with creating the Underground Railroad as an organized system. Stanley Harrold, a professor at South Carolina State University, agrees with Foner and states that Torrey “became an antislavery martyr… for having initiated an underground railroad” (Harrold, 2000, pg. 274). Since Foner only recently published his monograph, most of the information that he infers would supported until

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3, 1847 in New York, and soon North Star became very popular in North. Even though Douglass did not want to reveal the names of the conductors, he was happy to write about the stories and news of the Underground Railroad to inspire the abolitionists. For example, on the issue of May 19, 1848 in the North Star, it described a meeting at Zion Church: the abolitionist was discussing about the Underground Railroad. It said, “This society, which is composed mostly of colored people, is instituted expressly for the management of the Underground Railroad, and to judge by the result keep its business in constant activity” (13). It indicated that the Underground Railroad would be continuous effective to help the fugitives; the abolitionists and their organization would always be the backup force for these battle of anti-slavery for the colored people.

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These conductors guided these fugitive slaves to escape from their enslavement in order to be free as part of the “underground railroad”. Among these conductors is the notable Harriet Tubman, a former slave who led three hundred slaves to safety in the North (McGill, 2005). Besides assisting these fugitives in escapement, other efforts included housing these slaves, recapturing them from authorities, and providing resources for the fugitives to settle in once freed. To further illustrate the metaphor of the underground railroad umbrella, “the homes and businesses where fugitives would rest and eat were called "stations" and "depots" and were run by "stationmasters," those who contributed money or goods were "stockholders," and the "conductor" was responsible for moving fugitives from one station to the next” (“The Underground Railroad”, n.d.). This network of systems continued on and as it became more widespread and more known about, the underground railroad found success in bringing the issue of slavery “to the forefront of public consciousness and convinced a substantial and growing segment of the northern population that the South’s peculiar institution was morally wrong and potentially dangerous to the American way of life” (Devine, 2011).

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