Vigilance: The Life of William Still, Father of the Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad was a covert system that assisted African Americans in fleeing from their bondage in the antebellum Southern United States. William Still, born to a free family in New Jersey, moved to Philadelphia and worked for the Anti-Slavery Society. Still understated his own importance in the machinery that gave shelter, food, and funds to former slaves. Still continued what his family had done in the past, helping his fellow man in their time of trouble. As the country edged closer to the fracturing of the Civil War, Philadelphia more and more became a refuge for slaves in flight. Strategies would be pondered in order to fool slave catchers intent on nabbing the absconding slaves. Still and his fellow abolitionists would be at the center of the fight against slavery in the north. Still longed for freedom and the advancement of his fellow people and gave everything to further this agenda.

Vigilance: The Life of William Still, Father of the Underground Railroad recalls the life of a hero in not only the anti-slavery movement but the early civil rights movement. Author Andrew K. Diemer assembles a thorough biography about a fascinating figure in the abolition movement. A revelatory and satisfying dive into the life of a paragon.