[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 129 (Wednesday, September 24, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S9905]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      NATIONAL UNDERGROUND RAILROAD NETWORK TO FREEDOM ACT, S. 887

 Mr. D'AMATO. Mr. President, I rise today to urge my colleagues 
to join me in cosponsoring legislation that will commemorate the 
physical as well as spiritual triumph over one of our Nation's most 
tragic legacies. This legislation is designed to help the National Park 
Service present a dramatic chapter in American history; the 
perseverance of the quest for liberty that saw hundreds of thousands 
risk their lives so that they might live free. The National Underground 
Railroad Network to Freedom Act, S. 887, will give, for the first time, 
Federal recognition and acknowledgment to this avenue of hope for those 
who sought freedom from tyranny and oppression.
  The Underground Railroad was a loosely organized system of escape 
routes for hundreds of thousands of enslaved African-Americans. Average 
men and women, who shared a love of freedom and a hatred of the 
institution of slavery, committed themselves to help free a people by 
offering food, shelter, clothing, money, or whatever would assist 
passengers along the Underground Railroad. Typically, a stop along the 
Underground Railroad would be a farmhouse or a church where passengers 
would be hidden in the attic or the basement, or behind false walls or 
even under floorboards. A person on the railroad would be concealed 
until it was determined that it was safe to travel to the next site. 
This scenario was repeated over and over again until the passenger 
reached safety in the North or in Canada, Mexico, or the Caribbean.
  Although largely clandestine, the Underground Railroad is a tangible 
example of the extent that resistance to slavery existed during the 
18th and 19th centuries. Indeed, some 380 sites--28 of which are in New 
York--have been documented in a National Park Service study as sites 
potentially significant to the Underground Railroad movement. It is 
likely that there are more sites about which we will never know. Of the 
sites that do exist, it is important to highlight their role in 
abetting the elimination of the shameful practice of slavery.
  It is important to our national heritage that we recognize and 
remember the bravery of those who risked their lives to make the 
journey along the Underground Railroad and those who provided sanctuary 
to them. This legislation will help raise awareness about these 
locations along the Underground Railroad, enhancing the chances that 
the sites will be maintained or restored. We must recognize and 
preserve these historic sites, which represent the extraordinary 
efforts, perils, sacrifices, and triumphs of those who risked their 
lives so that they might taste freedom. I urge my colleagues to join me 
in cosponsoring this important measure.

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