In 1998, the National Park Service issued a directive that slavery was to be interpreted at all properties where it was a relevant topic.  One immediate impact of this is that the national Civil War battle sites here in Tennessee now address the social causes and legacies of the national conflict.  Another outcome of this directive was the creation of the Underground Railroad initiative of the National Park Service.  This is an effort to link all the known sites of the Underground Railroad (UGRR) and to prepare educational materials for use by the sites to interpret this widespread resistance movement.  Because of Tennessee's location, geography, and pronounced sectional differences, the state offers a unique opportunity to examine slavery and the Underground Railroad.

The history of the Underground Railroad in Tennessee is based primarily on oral tradition.  Former slaves passed down stories and information about the Underground Railroad to family and trusted friends.  Few people who assisted escaping slaves kept anything in writing that could incriminate them during the actual days that the Underground Railroad operated in Tennessee.  At the time, individuals could be arrested and tried for aiding and abetting fugitives.  After the Civil War, those involved in the resistance movement were reluctant to pen much in the way of memoirs or reminiscences because of the bitter divisions and violence that continued for many years in the state.

What has emerged from this oral tradition is a story of resistance to slavery and interracial cooperation, centered largely in the easternmost counties of Tennessee.