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History of American Slavery Underground Railroad Network
Background Image: EJI.org Legacy Museum's collection of soil from lynching sites across the United States on display at the museum - Bryan Stevenson, Equal Justice Initiative

An educational Journey to Freedom National Park activities, information, and resources are free to view, share, and download. Learn about the stories of how enslaved African Americans resisted bondage to gain their freedom through acts of self-emancipation. The individuals who sought this freedom from enslavement, known as freedom seekers, and those who assisted along the way, united together to become what is known as the Underground Railroad. The National Park Service and members of the Network to Freedom tell these stories of escape to demonstrate the significance of the Underground Railroad in the eradication of slavery as a cornerstone of the national civil rights movement. StoryMaps to digitally explore places of the Underground Railroad and discover how women influenced national politics through their participation in abolitionism.

In 1998, legislation titled, the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Act of 1998, was passed, creating the Network to Freedom program. There are currently over 600 locations part of the network in 40 states, plus Washington D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

If you’re inspired to learn more about the Underground Railroad visit the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park in Maryland or the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park in New York.

Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad

Determining their own fate, Tubman and her brothers escaped, but turned back when her brothers, one of them a brand-new father, had second thoughts. A brief time later, Tubman escaped alone and made her way through Maryland, Delaware, and across the line into Pennsylvania and freedom. Tubman’s biographer, Sarah Bradford, quoted Tubman.

“When I found I had crossed that line, I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person. There was such a glory over everything; the sun came like gold through the trees, and over the fields, and I felt like I was in Heaven.”
- Harriet Tubman

Animated Hero Video and Activity Book

mp4Harriet Tubman Animated Hero Classics Video

pdfHarriet Tubman Animated Hero Classics Activity Book

Video Playlist: A 21st Century Evil

About Slavery: A 21st Century Evil. From impoverished and often illiterate Thai farmers to women forced into prostitution; from men tricked into servitude in Brazil's brutal charcoal industry to entire families trapped as bonded laborer’s in Pakistan's feudal brick kilns - Al Jazeera investigates the flourishing modern slave trade,

Historians Against Slavery

Information on the connections between past and present trafficking.

The Historians Against Slavery Speakers Bureau provides high-quality lecturers prepared to connect the history of slavery and abolition to these same issues today.  They are prepared to address college campuses, student-run conferences, and teacher seminars.  They are also available for general audiences at public events sponsored by historical societies, museums, libraries, and humanities councils.

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 Public Downloads

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Public Downloads - Español (Spanish)

When available, we provide all our content with a Spanish version in our public download section. You can find additional material from sources listed in all our articles.

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