For many states, September represents International Underground Railroad Month. Maryland's Office of Tourism initiated this commemoration in 2019, when Governor Larry Hogan proclaimed September as International Underground Railroad Month.

In 2020, the states Maryland and Michigan were trailblazers in the effort to include more states in this celebration, working with the National Park Service's National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom to connect with verified Underground Railroad sites, facilities, and programs from across the United States.
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The Underground Railroad was a network of secret routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada..

The scheme was assisted by abolitionists and others sympathetic to the cause of the escapees. The enslaved who risked escape and those who aided them are also collectively referred to as the "Underground Railroad". Various other routes led to Mexico, where slavery had been abolished, and to islands in the Caribbean that were not part of the slave trade.

An earlier escape route running south toward Florida, then a Spanish possession (except 1763–83), existed from the late 17th century until approximately 1790. However, the network now generally known as the Underground Railroad was formed in the late 18th century. It ran north and grew steadily until the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by President Abraham Lincoln.
One estimate suggests that, by 1850, 100,000 enslaved people had escaped via the network.

Under the original Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, officials from free states were required to assist slaveholders or their agents who recaptured fugitives, but citizens and governments of many free states ignored the law, and the Underground Railroad thrived.
(See the posters in the image of this post)

With heavy lobbying by Southern politicians, the Compromise of 1850 was passed by Congress after the Mexican–American War. It stipulated a more stringent Fugitive Slave Law; ostensibly, the compromise addressed regional problems by compelling officials of free states to assist slave catchers, granting them immunity to operate in free states.

Because the law required sparse documentation to claim a person was a fugitive, slave catchers also kidnapped free blacks, especially children, and sold them into slavery. Southern politicians often exaggerated the number of escaped slaves and often blamed these escapes on Northerners interfering with Southern property rights.

The law deprived people suspected of being slaves the right to defend themselves in court, making it difficult to prove free status. In a de facto bribe, judges were paid a higher fee ($10) for a decision that confirmed a suspect as an enslaved person than for one ruling that the suspect was free ($5). Many Northerners who might have ignored enslavement issues in the South were confronted by local challenges that bound them to support slavery.

This was a primary grievance cited by the Union during the American Civil War, and the perception that Northern States ignored the fugitive slave laws and regulations was a major justification for secession.

Read More About The Underground Railroad Here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_Railroad
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Explore The Underground Railroad
The National Park Service preserves and protects powerful places - the physical memory of our nation's history. Locations related to the Underground Railroad are part of the Network to Freedom program. The locations in this program include National Park units, as well as locations with a verifiable connection to the Underground Railroad. Visiting these places - virtually or in person - allows you to form your own connections to the story of the Underground Railroad in America.

The Network to Freedom currently contains over 680 locations nationwide with a verifiable connection to the Underground Railroad. These locations include sites, facilities and programs, most of which can be visited.
The link to the interactive map below includes the locations of those open to the public and/or include public information about properties. Some locations are not plotted on the map for privacy and/or security reasons. You can also download the spreadsheet below the map link, showing all Network to Freedom listings that have public information available.

Link: https://www.nps.gov/.../undergroun.../explore-ugrr-sites.htm

Source: https://www.nps.gov/.../international-underground...