American Experience

Season 2 Episode 16: Roots of Resistance: The Story of the Underground Railroad

Men and women, black and white, risked their lives to carve an elaborate network of escape routes out of slavery in the mid 1800s -- trails and backroads, safehouses, river crossings and night trains leading as far north as Canada. Disguises, secret rendezvous and special codes were used to guard the identity of "conductors" and their fugitive "passengers." But flight to free territory didn't guarantee freedom; fugitives could be hunted down and returned.

Genre:

Documentary

Seasons:

37

Episodes:

396

Cast:

Quality:

HD

Duration:

55 min

First Air:

1988

Rating:

6.5