The Underground Railroad

What it is

This is a book published in 1872 by William Still, who worked for the Anti-Slavery Office in Philadelphia and led its Vigilant Committee. It records true accounts, letters, and sketches of people who escaped slavery along the Underground Railroad, as well as the abolitionists who helped them.

Why it matters

Still's book is one of the most important primary sources on the Underground Railroad, written by someone directly involved in helping people escape. It documents the courage of escaping people and the network of abolitionists, including figures from the same reform movement that Sojourner Truth belonged to, though she is not named in it.

Look closer

• Why might William Still have wanted to record these stories in such detail?
• What does the title page tell you about who the book was meant for?
• What might be left out of a record compiled by one organizer, even an honest one?