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Finding Ancestors in the Anti-Slavery Movement and Underground Railroad

The effort to abolish slavery in the United States spanned centuries and was powered by thousands of ordinary people. This guide provides sources and strategies to search for your ancestors in all this activity.

Introduction

The effort to abolish slavery in the United States spanned centuries and was powered by thousands of ordinary people. This guide provides sources and strategies to search for your ancestors in all this activity.

The collections of the Library of Congress contain a wide variety of materials on anti-slavery and Underground Railroad activity, including books, newspapers, manuscript materials, pamphlets, and more. Many primary source materials from the Library's collections have been digitized and are described in and linked to from this guide. In addition, related resources available from the Library and from external websites are included.