CHAPTER II

ORIGIN AND GROWTH OF THE UNDERGROUND ROAD

Conditions under which the Underground Road originated 17

The disappearance of slavery from the Northern states 17

Early provisions for the return of fugitive slaves 19

The fugitive slave clause in the Ordinance of 1787 20

The fugitive slave clause in the United States Constitution 20

The Fugitive Slave Law of 1793 21

The Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 22

Desire for freedom among the slaves 25

Knowledge of Canada among the slaves 27

Some local factors in the origin of the underground movement 30

The development of the movement in eastern Pennsylvania, in New Jersey, and in New York 33

The development of the movement in the New England states 36

The development of the movement in the West 37

The naming of the Road 44