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Coded Spirituals

2m 27s

Many of the well-known Negro Spirituals popular in the United States during the mid-1800s are much more complex than they first appear. Historians of the Underground Railroad refer to them as "Coded Spirituals". What that means is that the words actually have two meanings; one that is immediately apparent and one that's hidden just below the surface.

Underground Railroad: The William Still Story is made possible by CN Railway, the Rogers Cable Network, Canada Media Fund, The Rogers Documentary Fund, and by The Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Extras
This is the story of a man who risked his life shepherding runaway slaves to freedom.
Program segment for PBS Learning Media.
Program segment for PBS Learning Media
Program segment for PBS Learning Media.
Slaves who ran away from their masters and were re-captured suffered terrible punishments.
Historians have never been able to pin down how the Underground Railroad got its name.
The Fugitive Slave Act was an attempt by the government to appease southern slave states.
William Still earned the name "The Father of the Underground Railroad".
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This is the story of a man who risked his life shepherding runaway slaves to freedom.