Editing Underground Railroad (section)

===Terminology===

Members of the Underground Railroad often used specific terms, based on the metaphor of the railway. For example:
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* People who helped fugitive slaves find the railroad were "agents"
* Guides were known as "conductors"
* Hiding places were "stations" or "way stations"
* "Station masters" hid escaping slaves in their homes
* People escaping slavery were referred to as "passengers" or "cargo"
* Fugitive slaves would obtain a "ticket"
* Similar to common [[gospel]] lore, the "wheels would keep on turning"
* Financial benefactors of the Railroad were known as "stockholders"<ref>Blight, David, 2004, p. 98</ref>
* Promised Land – code word for Canada
* River Jordan – code word for Ohio River
* Heaven – code for freedom or Canada<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wade |first1=Phyllis |title=Signal Songs of the Underground Railroad |url=https://discoverytheater.org/forms/guides/2017/feb/Signal%20Songs%20of%20the%20Underground%20Railroad%20Learning%20Guide.pdf |website=Smithsonian Institution |access-date=14 September 2024}}</ref>
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The [[Big Dipper#Guidepost|Big Dipper]] (whose "bowl" points to the [[North Star]]) was known as the [[Follow the Drinkin' Gourd|drinkin' gourd]]. The Railroad was often known as the "freedom train" or "Gospel train", which headed towards "Heaven" or "the Promised Land", i.e., Canada.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://freedomcenter.org/enabling-freedom/history| title=History – National Underground Railroad Freedom Center| website=Freedomcenter.org| access-date=June 7, 2016| archive-date=August 17, 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180817144323/http://freedomcenter.org/enabling-freedom/history| url-status=dead}}</ref>