OLLI0133 - The Underground Railroad and the Struggle over Slavery

Course Description

The Underground Railroad (UGRR) in the U.S. was a movement unique in the history of the struggle against slavery, providing shelter and succor to the enslaved seeking freedom. At the forefront of the movement were the enslaved themselves who took the decision to leave, to seek a new life among people they did not know. We need to look, therefore, at why they left and what assistance they got from family and friends, free blacks, white, and other enslaved people. What laws did they violate in their decision to escape? Similarly, what laws did those who aided them in the free states break. Finally, the UGRR, was, by its very nature, a political movement that aimed to undermine the system of slavery. We will look at all aspects of a movement that many contemporaries believed pushed the country towards war. This course will be recorded.