American Experience

tv show

poster for American Experience

399 total episodes

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38 seasons

First Aired October 04, 1988

Overview

TV's most-watched history series brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today.

Roots of Resistance: The Story of the Underground Railroad poster unavailable

Roots of Resistance: The Story of the Underground Railroad

Season 2 - Episode 16 - 1h 55m

Air Date

January 16, 1990

Overview

Men and women, black and white, risked their lives to carve an elaborate network of escape routes out of slavery in the mid 1800s -- trails and backroads, safehouses, river crossings and night trains leading as far north as Canada. Disguises, secret rendezvous and special codes were used to guard the identity of "conductors" and their fugitive "passengers." But flight to free territory didn't guarantee freedom; fugitives could be hunted down and returned.