Underground Railroad in Indiana

The Underground Railroad in Indiana was part of a larger unofficial and loosely connected group of individuals who helped and facilitated the escape of runaway slaves from the Southern United States. Possibly as many as several thousand slaves escaped through Indiana with the help of Quakers, Baptists, and other religious groups including members like Levi Coffin, who operated safe houses, sheltered, fed, and transported the slave.

As early as 1805, an anti-slavery movement began in Indiana Territory. The early leaders of the movement were Quaker settlers in the eastern part of the territory. As their number grew, and other groups joined them, they soon became the dominant political group. In 1809 the anti-slavery faction took control of the Indiana territorial legislature and enacted laws intended to hinder the operation of slave catchers in the territory. They continued to grow in power, and in dominating the 1816 constitutional convention, they put a ban on slavery. By then, Indiana, like the other territories, had become known as a haven for runaway slaves, and runaways were commonly hunted down and taken home. In response to this, the Indiana General Assembly created and passed a Man Stealing Act, the law prevented any person from being forcibly removed from the state without first having a trial.

The law quickly brought the state into conflict with its neighboring slave state, Kentucky. In 1818 slave catchers tracked down and captured a supposed runaway slave in Corydon, Indiana, forcibly taking her from a family who was sheltering her. Indiana State Senator Dennis Pennington brought the slave catchers up on charges under the Man Stealing Act. When the governor of Indiana sought to have the men extradited, the governor of Kentucky declined on constitutional grounds.Noah Noble was later elected governor and in 1831 supported legislation to prevent runaway slaves from entering the state and protect slave catchers in capturing them. The law was passed, causing much of the assistance to runaway slaves to be conducted more secretly.

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