Most Americans have at least a general understanding of the atrocities of slavery, but that knowledge likely comes from middle school history class, the media, and works from historical figures such as Frederick Douglass. One aspect many are not aware of is how geographically widespread slavery was and how it extended far beyond the small set of Confederate states all the way to the golden state of California. Although California was admitted to the Union in 1850 as a free state, most residents turned a blind eye to slavery and it was allowed to continue relatively unhampered for quite some time. The city of Sacramento, in fact, held public slave auctions, although a growing movement of abolitionism moved slaves through the Underground Railroad― usually north toward British Columbia.
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