A few things I've learned while researching the Underground Railroad

Did you realize? The Emancipation Proclamation didn’t free a single Union slave. Slavery remained legal in the border states of Kentucky, Missouri, and Maryland. But there were two other Union states where slavery was legal. Can you name them?

Ever heard of Drapetomania?


Elizabeth Van Lew:

Known as “Crazy Bet,” Elizabeth Van Lew lived in Richmond, Virginia while it was the capitol of the Confederate States of America. She visited Union soldiers in Richmond jails, bringing them reading material, medicine, and food. What she removed was information on troop strength and placements that the Union soldiers witnessed while being escorted from the battlefield. At first, she simply mailed the information, but her methods became more advanced as the war progressed. In honor of her actions, President Grant named her Postmistress of Richmond—a lucrative position made all the more noteworthy by the fact that she was a woman in a time when women were not usually in the work force.

Were you able to name the two Union States where slavery was legal?

Hint. One state’s license plate reads: “Wild, Wonderful ________.”
One state’s license plate reads: “The First State.”


NEXT BLOG: JOHN FEE

P.S. Answers to the Union states where slavery was legal.

Wild, Wonderful, West Virginia (ratified the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery on February 3, 1865)

The First State, Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution. The Delaware state motto is “Liberty and Independence,” yet Delaware ratified the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery on February 12, 1901!

Drapetomania was a psychiatric diagnosis explaining runaway slaves. In 1851, Dr. Samuel Cartwright introduced the “mental illness” Drapetomania as a “medical disorder that produced crazy behavior in slaves, manifesting the desire to flee.”

Can you guess which state was the last to ratify the 13th Amendment and when? (More on this next time)