In the early 1830s, the U.S. anti-slavery movement was undergoing a profound radicalization as white anti-slavery proponents like William Lloyd Garrison joined black activists to demand the immediate, uncompensated emancipation of all slaves. This chapter illuminates the influence that two international free-soil havens had on the anti-slavery movement during this decade: Canada and Mexico. Following in the footsteps of newspaper editor Benjamin Lundy, it brings to life the critical debates that unfolded in the anti-slavery press about what meaningful freedom should look like for free African Americans and former slaves – and where they could go to find it.

This chapter explores and explains the origins of the Underground Railroad to Canada. In 1830, Ohio’s legislature decided to implement the state’s longstanding but disused Black Laws, barring African Americans from many of the rights enjoyed by their white neighbors. Shortly thereafter, anti-black rioting in Cincinnati forced thousands of black residents to flee their homes. In response, many black Cincinnatians gathered together to explore where they might go to start their lives anew. The U.S. North? Mexico? Haiti? Liberia? Situating their decision-making process in a landscape of expanding free-soil options abroad, this chapter argues that their ultimate decision – Upper Canada – was not a foregone conclusion. By reaching out to the province’s Lieutenant Governor, they secured a promise of legal equality that not only made Canada their most enticing option, it paved the way for Canada to become the foremost international destination for fugitive slaves and free people alike.