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Few periods of United States history are more important and less understood than the years leading to the Civil War. That is particularly true of the Underground Railroad. The origin of the term is unclear; a slavecatcher is believed to have uttered the phrase “the slaves disappeared, like they had boarded a railway underground.” The proximity to Canada via the Detroit River put Michigan on the map of Underground Railroad routes. Washtenaw County was the next to the last stop before arriving at the river. For many, it was the most dangerous point of the journey, since the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 made it a crime to harbor “runaways.” Join us as we follow one family’s story with historian Rochelle Balkam.

Balkam taught history and government at Ypsilanti High School for 36 years, and taught Michigan history at Eastern Michigan University (EMU) for 27 years. She holds an M.A. degree in history and an M.S. in historic preservation from EMU. Rochelle serves on the board of the Michigan One-Room Schoolhouse Association, and formerly served on the board of the Historical Society of Michigan and the Ann Arbor Historic Commission.