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The Underground Railroad, I

Album: 24: Risks and Rewards

Episode: 314

Lesson/Theme: God in history; the sanctity of life.

Bible Verse: Psalm 82:3

Characters:

Writer: Marshal Younger

Sound Designer: Bob Luttrell

Original Air Date: May 13, 1995

Last Air Date: April 8, 2009

Description:
Jack arrives at Whit’s End one morning to find a visitor waiting for him to open. The visitor’s name is Carl. He says he’s the curator for a museum in Chicago. He wants to look around because he believes that Whit’s End may have historical significance. Jack is intrigued. Carl asks if the building has any tunnels underneath it. Jack explains that there is a little-known tunnel that connects the downstairs workroom with the middle of the woods on the edge of McCalister Park. Hearing this, Carl looks as if he’s about to faint. Jack asks if he is all right, and Carl explains the reason for his excitement: The tunnel and Whit’s End itself may have been a stop on the Underground Railroad! Jack shows Carl the tunnel and asks why Carl believes it played a part in freeing runaway slaves. In response, Carl shows Jack an old book, an original manuscript written before the Civil War. The book describes a slave family’s run for freedom. The landmarks and the cities described in the book seem to show that Odyssey was one of the places the family stopped. Jack asks Carl to tell him the story, and Carl imparts the tale of the Ross family, Henry; his wife, Caroline; and William, their 17-year-old son. They were Tennessee slaves who broke their bonds and escaped to freedom in the North on the Underground Railroad. The story continues in part II...

Questions:
Why was the Underground Railroad necessary? Why is slavery wrong? What does the Bible say about it? If you had lived in the pre-Civil War South, would you have helped slaves run away? Why or why not? What were some of the risks associated with helping slaves escape?