Bound for Canaan: The Epic Story of the Underground Railroad, America's First Civil Rights Movement
by Fergus M. Bordewich

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Book Reviews of Bound for Canaan: The Epic Story of the Underground Railroad, America's First Civil Rights Movement

Book Review: All aboard
Summary: 5 Stars

Most people in America have heard of the Underground Railroad, but few have any clear sense of how it operated, or who operated it. I knew of a house a few miles from one of my Indiana homes that had been pointed out by local historians as one of the stops on the Underground Railroad, but the owners of the house were unaware of this; when pointed out to them by the local experts, they found some markers of secret hiding places. They were literally living in the old railroad, and were unaware of it.

By its very nature, the Underground Railroad is a hard phenomenon to classify or quantify. Is it an event or a thing? Is it the people or the movement? According to Bordewich, 'the meanings of the Underground Railroad seem both subtle and varied. Its most important achievement, obviously, was helping tens of thousands of enslaved Americans on their way to freedom.' Bordewich goes on to point out that the numbers, even in general terms, are unknown, because the record-keeping of the time from slaveowners and state records never agree, and the Underground Railroad itself wasn't an institution with bureaucratic intentions toward record-keeping. This also creates a difficulty in figuring out how many free Americans North and South participated in the operation of the Railroad, and where the places were that helped.

Bordewich's narrative intersperses stories of particular individuals with general historical descriptions and discussions. Some historians concentrate on great events, others on great institutions, and yet others on great people; Bordewich employes all of these methods in exploring the issues, personalities and functions of the Underground Railroad, the general conditions of slavery and race relations in North America, and the prevailing cultural, political and religious complexion of the new, growing nation of the United States. Perhaps the most prominent religious group in this book is the Quaker church, whose members provide both spiritual and material leadership in the movement in substantial amount.

Bordewich includes an interesting collection of photographs, line-art drawings, engravings and reproductions of publications in photoplates in the book. These include both passengers and crew of the Railroad, as well as important leaders in political and social circles. Included among the photographs of well-known figures such as Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, John Brown and Josiah Henson are advertisements about the Railroad that ran in newspapers (in a coded fashion) as well as a leaflet showing Jonathan Walker's branded hand (authorities in Pensacola had branded his hand with the letters SS, which for them symbolised 'slave-stealer', but came to be regarded by abolitionists and slaves as the symbol for 'slave saviour').

The Underground Railroad is an important episode in American history for many reasons of significance today, not the least of which in the continuing struggle toward equality and race relations with integrity that is an ongoing piece of the American community. 'Abolitionism taught the country that the problem of race was not on the margins but at the center of its national story.' This is a problem that continues to be at the centre of national life. Bordewich also demonstrates the intersection of this social action with the religious and pietistic temperament of the United States. The appeal to 'higher law' over the law of the states or the federal government is one that can continue to be heard in modern times. However, even beyond this appeal, Bordewich appeals to the readers that there is unmistakable import in the recognition 'that temporising and unprincipled compromise on civil rights can be risked only at the peril of damaging the nation's soul.'

This is a very important work for understanding both history in its own right, as well as how that history continues to have impact in today's world.

History Books

• Nonfiction