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Until the Civil War ended in 1865, the majority of African Americans in the United States were slaves. Most lived on plantations and farms in the South, but slavery was not abolished in northern states until the early nineteenth century. Slaves were considered property, like farm animals or equipment, and were whipped or otherwise punished it they tried to escape.
Despite the danger to themselves and their families if they were caught, many African-Americans did try to escape from slavery. While many were caught and returned, those who were fortunate found their way north to freedom, usually with the help of the Underground Railroad. This railroad was not a true "railroad;" it was a network of hideaways and safe houses created by abolitionists--Black and White people who hated slavery and sought to abolish it. These abolitionists provided escaping slaves with places to hide and rest, gave them food, and helped them get close to their eventual destination: Canada.
Ann Arbor was located along one of the main routes of the Underground Railroad. Many abolitionists lived in Ann Arbor. Guy Beckley, a Methodist minister who lived in a large house on Pontiac Trail in Lower Town, published an abolitionist newspaper, The Signal of Liberty. This newspaper provides evidence of abolitionist beliefs as well as accounts of fugitives who passed through Ann Arbor. Here are two articles: from April 1843 and from May 1843. To hear more about the Underground Railroad, Click here.
Beckley may have done more than just publish an abolitionist newspaper. Historians suspect his house and his brother Joshua's house on Pontiac Trail were used as stops on the Underground Railroad.
More audio segments on the Underground Railroad:
The Beckleys were not alone; they cooperated with other abolitionists in Southeastern Michigan to help slaves escape. Read an account of another Underground Railroad station.