Editing Underground Railroad (section)

===Arrival in Canada===
{{See also|American immigration to Canada|Slavery in Canada}}
{{external media |width =180px | float =right | video1 ='''[https://www.historicacanada.ca/productions/minutes/underground-railroad "Underground Railroad"]''' – [[Historica Canada]]. - [[Heritage Minutes]] (1:01 min) }}
[[File:UndergroundRailroadmonumentWindsor.jpg|175px|thumb|''International Underground Railroad Memorial'' in [[Windsor, Ontario]]]]
[[File:John Brown by Levin Handy, 1890-1910.jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[John Brown (abolitionist)|John Brown]] participated in the Underground Railroad as an abolitionist.]]

[[British North America]] (present-day Canada) was a desirable destination, as its long border gave many points of access, it was farther from [[slave catchers]], and it was beyond the reach of the United States' [[Fugitive Slave Act]]s. Further, slavery ended decades earlier in [[Slavery in Canada|Canada]] than in the [[Slavery in the United States|United States]].  Britain banned the institution of [[Slavery Abolition Act 1833|slavery in present-day Canada (and in most British colonies) in 1833]], though the practice of slavery in Canada had effectively ended already early in the 19th century through case law, due to court decisions resulting from litigation on behalf of slaves seeking [[manumission]].<ref name="Shadd2016">{{cite book|first=Mary Ann|last=Shadd|title=A Plea for Emigration; or Notes of Canada West: A Broadview Anthology of British Literature Edition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ob1aDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA11|year=2016|publisher=Broadview Press|isbn=978-1-55481-321-6|page=11|access-date=November 30, 2020|archive-date=April 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415032411/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ob1aDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA11|url-status=live}}</ref>

Most former enslaved, reaching Canada by boat across [[Lake Erie]] and [[Lake Ontario]], settled in [[Ontario]]. More than 30,000 people were said to have escaped there via the network during its 20-year peak period,<ref name="CAN"/> although [[United States census|U.S. census]] figures account for only 6,000.<ref>[http://www.cdva.ca.gov/news/GV%202-2-07.pdf "From slavery to freedom"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070713234430/http://www.cdva.ca.gov/news/GV%202-2-07.pdf |date=July 13, 2007 }}, ''The Grapevine'', pp. 3–5.</ref> Numerous fugitives' stories are documented in the 1872 book ''[[The Underground Railroad (Still)|The Underground Railroad Records]]'' by [[William Still]], an abolitionist who then headed the Philadelphia [[Vigilance Committee]].<ref>[[Deborah Gray White]], [[Mia Bay]], [[Waldo E. Martin Jr.]] ''Freedom on My Mind: A History of African Americans with Documents''. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, p. 287. {{ISBN|978-0-312-64883-1}}.</ref>

Estimates vary widely, but at least 30,000 slaves, and potentially more than 100,000, escaped to Canada via the Underground Railroad.<ref name="CAN">{{cite web| url=http://www.histori.ca/minutes/minute.do?id=10166| work=[[Historica Minutes]]| quote=Between 1840 and 1860, more than 30,000 people enslaved in America came secretly to Canada and freedom| title=Settling Canada Underground Railroad |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100106114439/http://www.histori.ca/minutes/minute.do?id=10166 |archive-date=January 6, 2010 |access-date=January 30, 2018 }}</ref> The largest group settled in [[Upper Canada]] (Ontario), called [[Canada West]] from 1841.<ref>Bordewich, Fergus, 2005, p. 379</ref> Numerous [[Black Canadian]] communities developed in [[Southern Ontario]]. These were generally in the triangular region bounded by [[Niagara Falls, Ontario|Niagara Falls]], Toronto, and [[Windsor, Ontario|Windsor]]. Several rural villages made up mostly of people freed from slavery were established in [[Kent County, Ontario|Kent]] and [[Essex County, Ontario|Essex]] counties in Ontario.

[[Fort Malden]], in [[Amherstburg, Ontario]], was deemed the "chief place of entry" for escaped slaves seeking to enter Canada. The abolitionist [[Levi Coffin]], who was known for aiding over 2,000 fugitives to safety, supported this choice. He described Fort Malden as "the great landing place, the principle terminus of the underground railroad of the west."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Landon |first=Fred |date=1925 |title=Amherstburg, Terminus of the Underground Railroad |journal=[[Journal of Negro History]] |volume=10 |issue=1 |page=5|doi=10.2307/2713665 |jstor=2713665 |s2cid=149997017 }}</ref> After 1850, approximately thirty people a day were crossing over to Fort Malden by steamboat.{{sfn|Calarco|Vogel|Grover|Hallstrom|2011|p=15}} The ''Sultana'' was one of the ships, making "frequent round trips" between [[Great Lakes]] ports. Its captain, C.W. Appleby, a celebrated mariner, facilitated the conveyance of several fugitives from various [[Lake Erie]] ports to Fort Malden.{{sfn|Calarco|2008|p=110}} Other fugitives at Fort Malden had been assisted by [[William Wells Brown]], himself someone who had escaped slavery. He found employment on a Lake Erie steamer and transported numerous fugitives from Cleveland to Ontario by way of Buffalo or Detroit. "It is well known," he tells us, "that a great number of fugitives make their escape to Canada, by way of Cleaveland. ''[sic]'' ...The friends of the slave, knowing that I would transport them without charge, never failed to have a delegation when the boat arrived at Cleaveland. ''[sic]'' I have sometimes had four or five on board at one time."{{sfn|Brown|1848|pp=107–108}}

[[File:MarthaCoffinWright.jpg|thumb|[[Martha Coffin Wright]] operated her house in [[Auburn, New York]] as a stop on the Underground Railroad and it was frequented by Harriet Tubman during her rescue missions. Wright's house connected to other network of safe houses in New York that led to Canada.<ref>{{cite web |title=Martha C. Wright |url=https://www.nps.gov/wori/learn/historyculture/martha-c-wright.htm |website=Women's Rights National Historical Park |access-date=16 September 2024}}</ref>]]

Another important destination was [[Nova Scotia]], which was first settled by [[Black Loyalists]] during the [[American Revolution]] and then by [[Black Refugee (War of 1812)|Black Refugees]] during the [[War of 1812]] (''see [[Black Nova Scotians]]''). Important Black settlements also developed in other parts of [[British North America]] (now parts of Canada). These included [[Lower Canada]] (present-day [[Quebec]]) and [[Vancouver Island]], where Governor [[James Douglas (governor)|James Douglas]] encouraged Black immigration because of his opposition to slavery. He also hoped a significant Black community would form a bulwark against those who wished to unite the island with the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |title=First Black Settlers Arrive in Victoria |url=https://www.leg.bc.ca/dyl/Pages/First-Black-Settlers-Arrive-in-Victoria.aspx |access-date=2022-06-18 |website=www.leg.bc.ca |language=en |archive-date=August 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220816142039/https://www.leg.bc.ca/dyl/Pages/First-Black-Settlers-Arrive-in-Victoria.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Upon arriving at their destinations, many freedom seekers were disappointed, as life in Canada was difficult. While not at risk from [[slave catcher]]s due to being in a different country, [[Racism in Canada|racial discrimination]] was still widespread.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Maynard |title=Policing Black Lives State Violence in Canada from Slavery to the Present |date=2017 |publisher=Fernwood Publishing |isbn=9781552669792}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Winks |title=Blacks in Canada A History |date=1997 |publisher=McGill-Queens University Press |isbn=9780773566682 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5cMTlnBYjxIC&q=racism}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mullens |last2=Morgan |title=Canada the Great White North where Anti-Black Racism Thrives: Kicking Down the Doors and Exposing the Realities |journal=Phylon |date=Summer 2016 |volume=53 |issue=1 |pages=20–41 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/phylon1960.53.1.20 |access-date=21 April 2023}}</ref> Many of the new arrivals had to compete with mass [[European Canadians|European immigration]] for jobs, and overt racism was common. For example, in reaction to Black Loyalists being settled in eastern Canada by the Crown, the city of [[Saint John, New Brunswick]], amended its charter in 1785 specifically to exclude Blacks from practicing a trade, selling goods, fishing in the harbor, or becoming freemen; these provisions stood until 1870.<ref>[http://www.saintjohn.nbcc.nb.ca/~Heritage/Black/Loyalists.htm "Arrival of the Black Loyalists: Saint John's Black Community"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519034253/http://www.saintjohn.nbcc.nb.ca/~Heritage/Black/Loyalists.htm |date=May 19, 2011 }}, Heritage Resources Saint John</ref>

With the outbreak of the Civil War in the U.S., many black refugees left Canada to enlist in the [[Union Army]]. While some later returned to Canada, many remained in the United States. Thousands of others returned to the American South after the war ended. The desire to reconnect with friends and family was strong, and most were hopeful about the changes emancipation and [[Reconstruction era|Reconstruction]] would bring.