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By: Brodie and Chloe
The Underground Railroad station masters were one of the strongest elements of the system. Many station masters struggled to help slaves escape in the tough times. They all had extremely fascinating backgrounds. Just a few station masters include Isaac Hopper, Anthony Burns, John Brown, and John Fairfield.
Isaac Hopper was very brave. As a result, he was connected to the Hicksites. He Joined them in 1827. The Hicksites were a group of abolitionists in the North. His “Extreme anti-slavery reputation" (Prabook.com), encouraged him to join the fight against injustice. The group was named after Elias Hicks, who founded the it. Furthermore, he helped slaves escape by sea. Hopper started to assist slaves in the 1800s. Traveling by boat was safer and faster. The land held many obstacles, such as slave owners and bounty hunters. He was known for helping slaves in court. Slaves never had anyone to help them and couldn't speak in their defense. To end, Isaac Hopper helped many slaves at great risk.
Anthony Burns had an interesting past. To start, he had to escape slavery. He found a job and a house, he had success in the North unlike the South. He was forced to work long hours as a slave before running away. Burns had a better quality of life when he was free, For example he wasn't over worked, flogged, or starved. Unfortunately, he was recaptured by his owner. While coming home from work one day, his owner ambushed him. Burns went to court and lost; he had no chance of winning as a runaway slave. However, abolitionists in Boston bought his freedom. His freedom cost $676 he wrote in a letter saying, “I am for sale… you can get me low he would take $800 for me” (longroad justice.org). To conclude, Anthony had a fascinating background.
John Brown was a very important station master. As a young man, he had a very well thought out future. Brown started an organization to protect the runaway slaves. His organization was called League of Gileadites, and it basically encouraged slaves to resist their owners by force. Brown had many ideas that he shared. In 1847 a talk with Frederick Douglas and John Brown occurred. “It was at a meeting that Brown first outlined his plans to Douglas to lead a war to free slaves"(Pbs.org). Soon after, he took on many responsibilities. Brown hosted many fugitive slaves in his household. Harboring runaway slaves in his own home held a lot of responsibility. John Brown took in slaves and made food for them. Giving them a place to sleep, he also arranged safe passages to freedom for the slaves he hosted. When John Brown's Journey coming to an end, Brown's life started to change. John Brown was charged with treason and murder. He was charged for many reasons, but one was he killed a slave owner. He also started Harpers Ferry, a raid across Kansas to the Missouri border. Harpers Ferry was a raid that resulted in impacting people and making them think more about abolishment of slavery and what was right and wrong. The raid changed many people's opinions throughout history. John Brown went through a lot in the Underground Railroad.
John Fairfield was one one of many helpful station masters. During his life, Fairfield realized many terrible actions were taking place in regards to slavery. He was born into a slave holding family. When he started growing up, he realized that slavery was never a good choice. John most definitely had hatred towards slavery. “He believed that every slave had a right to freedom" (Nps.Gov). Later in his life, John Fairfield had some wild adventures. He made trips to every state to rescue thousands of slaves. Another time, he freed 19 slaves at once. He constantly disguised himself as a slave trader, slave holder, and many more. During one of his disguises as a funeral procession, he helped 28 slaves escape to freedom. A man who grew up in Virginia would also grow up to be one of the most dedicated station masters.
Anthony Burns, Isaac Hopper, John Brown, and John Fairfield were the central base of the Underground Railroad station master. Being a station master had to have been a very structured job. These station masters risked their lives for the many slaves they welcomed into their houses. Students can learn about station masters in the 1800's. Now students will have a completely different idea about the Underground Railroad and it's station masters.
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