Underground Railroad: The William Still Story

Slavery and Freedom

As incredible as it sounds today, in the 1850s many Americans believed that slaves were incapable of thinking for themselves and could not survive on their own. They believed that the black man was created by God to serve a white master and found passages in the Bible to prove it. Some slave holders even argued that they were doing their slaves a favor by providing them with food and shelter.

Slavery and Freedom

3m 16s

  • Underground Railroad: The William Still Story: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Underground Railroad: The William Still Story

    S1 E1 - 55m 28s

    Underground Railroad: The Williams Still Story is the story of a humble Philadelphia clerk who risked his life shepherding runaway slaves to freedom in the tumultuous years leading up to America’s Civil War. William Still was the director of a complex network of abolitionists, sympathizers and safe houses that stretched from Philadelphia to what is now Southern Ontario.

WETA Passport

Stream tens of thousands of hours of your PBS and local favorites with WETA Passport whenever and wherever you want. Catch up on a single episode or binge-watch full seasons before they air on TV.