The Network is inclusive and incorporates the broadest range of elements possible to tell the story of the Underground Railroad. It is based on the fundamental premise that all people desire to be free and that enslavement denied the individual’s humanity. The enslaved resisted, through a variety of means, wherever and whenever slavery existed. Underground Railroad activity occurred when resistance took the form of flight. Associations or connections to the Underground Railroad, or resistance to enslavement through flight, are therefore broad and can incorporate various activities.

Sites, for example, can have a historical association through many different ways. The most common association is if the site, perhaps a building or even a natural feature, was a "station" of the Underground Railroad, that is, a place that provided refuge and assistance to fugitives. An association could also be found at a river crossing, a route, or a hiding place used by the freedom seeking enslaved. Or, a connection could be through a prominent person in the Underground Railroad movement, the site of a legal challenge to slavery, a church with an active congregation--even if the church building itself was not used as a place of refuge.

Sites where flight originated, such as rural or urban plantations or estates where escapes took place, or points of rebellion, can be associated with the Underground Railroad. Likewise, destination sites such as maroon communities or colonies are also associated sites. Military-related sites are also noteworthy parts of the Underground Railroad story, and can include sites of famous battles associated with the flight of the enslaved or forts occupied by Federal forces that provided refuge to the enslaved.

Other associated activities could include the act of rescuing individuals from enslavement, or, on the reverse side, kidnappings of freedom seekers or free blacks and their subsequent enslavement. Cemeteries that include burials of famous people who participated in Underground Railroad activity are important as well. These are just some of the possible associations that define Underground Railroad activity. The definition is meant to be fluid to incorporate new investigations, interpretations, and commemoration activities around the country.

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