The Underground Railroad in the Hudson River Valley: A Succinct Historical Composite‪.‬

INTRODUCTION: ABOLITIONISM, BLACK ABOLITIONISTS AND THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD-AN ADJUSTED VIEW OF "THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY" In the antebellum period one of the most formidable challenges posed to the nation and the nefarious business in human chattel it protected under the guise of "private property," was that of abolitionism. It was a movement for the immediate and total dismantling of the institution of slavery. The challenge was made even more formidable because of the movement's involvement in the clandestine operations of one of slavery's effective nemesis, the Underground Railway. The operations were of the kind in which many participated but few took the time to fathom the meaning behind such operations beyond that of freedom. What, therefore, was the Underground Railroad?