How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Of the one hundred thousand slaves who fled from the South to Canada between 1810 and 1850, forty thousand of them had passed through Ohio. (1.68)
Ohio had a very special role in helping slaves reach freedom. If you're looking for a paper topic for this novel, you might consider Ohio. The website Ohio History Central is a treasure trove of information.
Quote #2
Those who ran the house in Ohio had an even greater risk than the care and concealment of slaves. They actually encouraged the slaves to let themselves be caught and returned to slavery! (2.5)
Thomas can't believe this, and we admit, it's hard to wrap the mind around. Luckily the book explains. Slaves would willingly return to slavery to help free others. This was, as you can imagine, extremely dangerous, a job for the "brave and strong, and very clever" (2.14).
Quote #3
The report went on to say that three slaves whom Dies Drear had hidden for a time were caught in an attempt to reach Canada. Two of the slaves were killed by the bounty hunters who caught them. (2.20)
Thomas thinks that two of the slaves are the "slave ghosts" that, according to the ghost legend, haunt the house. We learn that the third slave escaped to freedom and was Mr. Skinner's great-great grandfather.
Quote #4
"I think you children just better get off my father's land," […] "Part of the Underground Railroad must be under these steps. I've got work to do." […]
"There's no tracks down there," said Pesty. (4.32, 33)
Like Pesty, most of us think of trains and train tracks the first time we hear about the Underground Railroad, the system of people and places involved in helping people escape from slavery. In "Setting" we talk about some origins of the name.
Quote #5
"I can yield to its separateness when I realize that without it segregated there would be no story of the Underground Railroad. There could be no sure refuge for the exhausted, runaway slave." (10.3).
During time of slavery, black churches were completely separate from white churches. This gave black people freedom to organize and to hide running slaves. Ohio, where the story is set has a rich history of African churches. It's in Mr. Small's nature to want to preserve the tradition.
Quote #6
We are Tuscaroras. He is my chief and I am his brave son. (13.2)
Wait a minute, that isn't about slavery… Actually, it is. The Tuscarora, a North Carolina Native American tribe, also have a history of slavery. Thomas identifies with the Tuscarora and imagines himself as Tuscarora when he feels like he's in danger. Here he's on edge because he and his father are on his way to confront Mr. Pluto after the kitchen incident.
Quote #7
"An accounting," he said softly, his voice no better than a cry. […] "The day by day barter of black people," said Pluto. (14.37, 38)
Slavery was a big business, and it was treated like any other business. It's horrifying to think of, but people really were treated like any other property. Mr. Pluto holds in his hands the terrifying truth. These books would've had identifying information on a person who was sold. They would also have the prices involved in the "barter" or trade of humans for money, land, and other things.
Quote #8
"I take freedom any day over that romantic nonsense about slavery." (15.29)
This is a complicated moment, because Mayhew is a complicated guy. He's also angry. He's suggesting that too much thinking about the past, about slavery traps you there. He finds freedom by trying to move away from the past. To let it die. Does Mayhew say or do anything to contradict what he says in this quote? What? Why?
Quote #9
"I mean not to glorify [slavery]," said Mr. Small. "I simply want people to know about it. It's part of our history, and yet no one tells the truth about it." (15. 30)
This is Mr. Small's response to Mayhew. Why do you think he says "no one tells the truth about it"? If the story was set today, instead of in the 1960s, would he say the same thing? Why or why not?