The underground railroad records : narrating the hardships, hairbreadth escapes, and death struggles of the slaves in their efforts for freedom

"A riveting collection of the hardships, hairbreadth escapes, and mortal struggles of enslaved people seeking freedom: These are the true stories of the Underground Railroad. Featuring a powerful introduction by Ta-Nehisi Coates As a conductor for the Underground Railroad -- the covert resistance network created to aid and protect slaves seeking freedom -- William Still helped as many as eight hundred people escape enslavement. He also meticulously collected the letters, biographical sketches, arrival memos, and ransom notes of the escapees. The Underground Railroad Records is an archive of primary documents that trace the narrative arc of the greatest, most successful campaign of civil disobedience in American history. This edition highlights the remarkable creativity, resilience, and determination demonstrated by those trying to subvert bondage. It is a timeless testament to the power we all have to challenge systems that oppress us." -- Back cover The true stories of the Underground Railroad captured in real time by a legendary abolitionist and Underground Railroad Conductor-a riveting collection of the hardships, hairbreadth escapes and mortal struggles of enslaved people fighting their way to freedom. William Still's meticulously recorded collection of narratives of escape-unlike traditional autobiographical slave narratives-chronicles a wide variety of stories, laying the tracks of the Underground Railroad through correspondences, legal documents, transcribed speech, reward advertisements, and biographical sketches. Together they form an unprecedented and essential archive chronicling the efforts for freedom of escaped slaves. The Underground Rail Road Records offers some of the best evidence we have of this extraordinarily covert resistance network, and narrates a series of chapters that, at their creative determination seem almost magical. The stories bear witness to the intense desire for freedom-and the powerful agency of the enslaved to acquire it. Their stories are moving and remarkable-like that of William Peel, who wrapped himself in straw to be shipped in a box that carried him north. Or Clarissa Davis, who hid in a coop for more than two months and was smuggled aboard a ship, dressed in male attire. Originally published in 1872, but never timelier, The Underground Railroad records affirm the powerful draw of freedom and the imaginative means people went to achieve it, and brings to life the human drama of women, men, and children taking the most dramatic risks imaginable to escape the horrors of bondage "In riveting and heartbreaking testimonies from the front lines of the epic struggle for freedom, here is the true story of the underground railroad. As a conductor for the Underground Railroad -- the covert resistance network created to aid and protect slaves seeking freedom -- William Still helped as many as eight hundred people escape enslavement. He also meticulously collected the letters, biographical sketches, arrival memos, and ransom notes of the escapees. The Underground Railroad Records is an archive of primary documents that traces the narrative arc of the greatest, most successful campaign of civil disobedience in American history. These essential records and stories, introduced in this edition by a powerful new essay by Ta-Nehisi Coates, highlight the remarkable creativity, resilience, and determination demonstrated by those trying to subvert bondage. It is a timeless treatment to the power we all have to challenge systems that oppress us. -- Back cover