From the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway Driving Tour Guide website:
Independence National Historical Park- Stop 44 (page 49) Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway Driving Tour Guide.
Within Independence National Historical Park,
several buildings all located on Independence Square
have ties to the Underground Railroad. Important
decisions about slavery and freedom, which charted
the future of this nation, transpired at Independence
Hall, Congress Hall and Old City Hall. The Square
was the gathering place for abolition activities and
the location for speeches made by abolitionist
Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.
At Independence Hall, the Declaration of
Independence was signed, promising freedom. The
U.S. Constitution was drafted, which regulated slavery
as part of a series of compromises enacted by the
Constitutional Convention of 1787. The resulting
constitution included the three-fifths clause, which
declared that for purposes of representation in
Congress, enslaved blacks would be
counted as three-fifths of the number
of white inhabitants of that state. Other
clauses prohibited slavery in the
Northwest Territories and ended U.S.
participation in the international slave
trade in 1807.
These compromises reflected Virginia
Constitutional Convention delegate (and
future U.S. President) James Madison’s
observation that “…the States were
divided into different interests not by
their…size…but principally from their
having or not having slaves.” While all
northern states initially allowed slavery,
most enacted gradual emancipation laws
around the time of the American
Revolution.
Also at Independence Hall, U.S. District
Court trials were held concerning
the 1851 Christiana riots and other
fugitive cases.
In Congress Hall, the U.S. Congress passed
the 1793 Fugitive Slave Act, which
guaranteed the right of a slaveholder to
recover an escaped slave and provided
a mechanism by which that could be
accomplished. Here, Congress also heard
anti-slavery petitions. In Old City Hall, two
mayors publicly demonstrated their
support of the anti-slavery movement.
Independence Hall is a World Heritage
site. The National Park Service provides
tours and programs on site. Get
information and begin your tour at the
Independence Visitor Center located on
Independence Mall on Market Street.
(
visit link)