Few people are aware of the important role that New Jersey played in the Underground Railroad Movement and how central this role was in the successful freeing of tens of thousands of Africans held in bondage in the American South. More important even than numbers freed, though, is the abstract contribution towards emancipation made by New Jersey residents, black and white, who participated in the state’s Underground Railroad network.
Despite its northern locale, New Jersey was not a “free state”–one which fugitive slaves could reach and find freedom. To the contrary, New Jersey participated in the practice of slavery almost from the time the first African slaves arrived in North America at the beginning of the 17th century. By 1726, New Jersey slaves numbered roughly 2,600, approximately 8% of the colony’s population at the time. Twenty years later, this number had nearly doubled.