![]() William Still is considered the “father” of the underground railroad, leading efforts in New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania. New Jersey banned slavery in 1846, 14 years before the start of the Civil War. “South Jersey and Cape May were actually very divided on the issue because it was a vacation spot for visitors from the North and South. “The lighthouse of Cape May became the beacon of freedom for many,” Bryan noted. The Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in 1863, and the 13th Amendment banned slavery in 1865. Nearly 100,000 people escaped to freedom, often traveling 10 miles during the night.īryan gave an overview of a number of federal laws that sided with slave owners, including the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which punished anyone who didn’t help in the capture of the slaves and prohibited enslaved people from fighting kidnapping charges in court. The route to freedom for enslaved persons began in the early 1800s and reached its peak from 1850 through 1865, according to Bryan. Many of the routes were up through the central U.S., down to Mexico or north to Canada.” “Guides were considered conductors station house owners were station masters. “Safe houses were called stations,” Bryan said. 19, sponsored by the Cape May Museums+Arts+Culture (MAC). He shared the history of the underground network in Cape May and tales of some of its supporters during a lunch and learn Oct. CAPE MAY – The underground railroad, a social justice movement that helped enslaved people on the run, was neither underground nor a railroad, but used railroad terms as code words during its reign in the early and mid-1800s.Īccording to Ted Bryan, a retired Middle Township High School teacher and nearly life-long resident of the area, the underground railroad is considered the first Civil Rights movement as it impacted people who were old and young, Black and white, traveling in tough weather conditions, mostly in spring and winter. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |