Chapter 10

What really happened . . .

An Important Reminder

Over the years, many people helped with the Underground Railroad. It was an important path to freedom for slaves. Yet it was also much more.

The Underground Railroad was what the United States badly needed during a difficult time. It was a great symbol of freedom. People from different backgrounds worked together to make it succeed. It showed that with courage and hard work important changes could be made.

In the end, the Underground Railroad quietly faded away. When the North won the Civil War in 1865, slavery was banned. There was no longer a need for an Underground Railroad.

Image Credit: Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography, 1900, v. 4 (bottom right) ; Courtesy of the Levi Coffin Association and Waynet, Inc (top left, top middle) ; Image from Scenes in the Life of Harriet Tubman, 1869, by Sarah H. Bradford (bottom, middle) ; Library of Congress (top right, bottom left)

All these people made a life or death decision. What would you do?

Yet the memory of the Underground Railroad remains. It’s an important reminder for the nation. It shows us that goodness can exist even in the darkest times.