Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A series of escape routes and hiding places that fugitive slaves used to escape the South before and during the Civil War.
- noun A secret cooperative network of people who helped and hid such fugitive slaves.
- noun A secret cooperative network engaged in the clandestine movement and housing of fugitives, such as children removed illegally from the custody of a parent charged with child abuse.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- proper noun The Pre-American Civil War anti-
slavery resistance movement dedicated to assisting escaped slaves in reaching safe territory.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun secret aid to escaping slaves that was provided by abolitionists in the years before the American Civil War
Etymologies
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Examples
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Emily had heard whispers of a group called the Underground Railroad that helped escaped slaves reach Canada, but she knew no one who admitted to being part of it.
Girls To The Rescue Book #3 Bruce Lansky 1997
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Some people—they’re called the Underground Railroad—help people like me.
Girls To The Rescue Book #3 Bruce Lansky 1997
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Detroit was the last stop on the Underground Railroad -- the escape route for slaves during the Civil War -- before Canada.
April Rudin: This Is My Detroit: What the Motor City Means to Me April Rudin 2011
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It is impossible to confirm or verify any one specific route taken on the Underground Railroad, as it was often not the same route for reasons of safety and circumstance.
Eliza’s Freedom Road Jerdine Nolen 2011
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Detroit was the last stop on the Underground Railroad -- the escape route for slaves during the Civil War -- before Canada.
April Rudin: This Is My Detroit: What the Motor City Means to Me April Rudin 2011
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Detroit was the last stop on the Underground Railroad -- the escape route for slaves during the Civil War -- before Canada.
April Rudin: This Is My Detroit: What the Motor City Means to Me April Rudin 2011
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It is impossible to confirm or verify any one specific route taken on the Underground Railroad, as it was often not the same route for reasons of safety and circumstance.
Eliza’s Freedom Road Jerdine Nolen 2011
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It is impossible to confirm or verify any one specific route taken on the Underground Railroad, as it was often not the same route for reasons of safety and circumstance.
Eliza’s Freedom Road Jerdine Nolen 2011
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Pauline Johnson, 83, says she didn't even learn she was the great-grandniece of Underground Railroad conductor Harriet Tubman until she was 25.
150 years after Civil War, descendants deal with legacy 2011
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Detroit was the last stop on the Underground Railroad -- the escape route for slaves during the Civil War -- before Canada.
April Rudin: This Is My Detroit: What the Motor City Means to Me April Rudin 2011
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