Author Fergus Bordewich’s “Bound for Canaan” traces the abolition movement from 1790 to the eve of the Civil War, primarily through the Underground Railroad. Bordewich writes that the Underground Railroad “…occupies a romantic place in the American imagination that is shared by only a few episodes in the nation’s history: the Lewis and Clark expedition, for instance, the California Gold Rush, the Indian wars, and a handful of others.” (Bound for Canaan, 3) And perhaps because of its position in the American consciousness, the memory of the Underground Railroad, like so many other prominent historical events, is checkered with truths and untruths. Was the Underground Railroad a consistently clandestine operation? Are clever codes and hiding places all there is to amaze the modern student of the Underground Railroad? Indeed, secrecy, codes, and hiding places all had their part in the Underground Railroad, but a concentration on these has served to give birth to myths clouding the truth of the movement.
Bordewich addresses the issues of myth and reality in the Underground Railroad in “Bound for Canaan,” but for a more succinct discussion of the issue, one can turn to the author’s blog. A post from July of 2005 examines the truth of the Underground Railroad in accessible, informative prose, and serves as a fine introduction and springboard for further investigation of the issue. Certainly worth reading.
Related Articles
3 users responded in this post
Having taught history to high school students for nearly 30 years, it is apparent to me that we need to introduce our students to the whole concept of “memory” as we embark, particularly the idea that we tend to choose our memories or choose those that we hold most dear and they are both informed by, and inform our world view. This seems, of course, especially true of issues related to race. I teach in a school with a significant Native American population and we need to deal with this responsibly in our classrooms. Additionally, as Fergus Bordewich so wonderfully illustrates, this is is incredibly complex.
Memory is perhaps the most important of our realities. In a way it is a sea of shifting sands: each time we access it, the memory is altered. Memory continues to evolve. One great point made during NEH is to question carefully what we read, what we are told. Teaching students to think critically, to question, to challenge with respect, is one of the highest skills we can give them.
I find topics like this absolutely fascinating (you can see my blog here) – we’ve much to learn from books like these and totally agree with the comment above – we must strive to teach students to think critically and to challenge common-held beliefs and assumptions.
Leave A Reply
Please Note: Comment moderation maybe active so there is no need to resubmit your comments