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Underground Railroad
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For train transportation used underground, see Rapid transit.
For other uses, see Underground Railroad (disambiguation).
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad by artist Charles T. Webber, 1893
Date
Late 1700s-1865
Location
Northern United States with routes to Canada, Mexico, and Caribbean Sea[1]
Participants
abolitionists and fugitive, runaway slaves
Outcome
The massive resettlement of former African American slaves outside the United States, until the Union victory at the end of the American Civil War and the passing of the Thirteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution abolishing slavery.
Deaths
?
Map of various Underground Railroad escape routes in the Northern United States and Canada
The Underground Railroad was a network of secret routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early-to-mid 19th century, and used by African-American slaves to escape into free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause.[2] The term is also applied to the abolitionists, both black and white, free and enslaved, who aided the fugitives.[3] Various other routes led to Mexico or overseas.[4] An earlier escape route running south toward Florida, then a Spanish possession (except 1763–83), existed from the late 17th century until Florida became a United States territory in 1821 (and ending the safe haven for escaped slaves was the main reason it changed nationality).[5] However, the network now generally known as the Underground Railroad was formed in the late 1700s, and reached its height between 1850 and 1860.[6] One estimate suggests that by 1850, 100,000 slaves had escaped via the "Railroad".[6]
British North America (present-day Canada), where slavery was prohibited, was a popular destination, as its long border gave many points of access. Most former slaves settled in Ontario. More than 30,000 people were said to have escaped there via the network during its 20-year peak period,[7] although U.S. Census figures account for only 6,000.[8] Numerous fugitives' stories are documented in the 1872 book The Underground Railroad Records by William Still, an abolitionist who then headed the Philadelphia Vigilance Committee.[9]
Contents
[hide]
1 Political background
2 Structure
3 Route
3.1 Traveling conditions
3.2 Terminology
3.3 National Underground Railroad Network
4 Folklore
5 Legal and political
6 Criticism
7 Arrival in Canada
8 Notable people
9 Related events
10 Inspirations for fiction
11 Contemporary literature
12 See also
13 Notes
14 References
15 Further reading
15.1 Folklore and myth
16 External links
Political background[edit]
At its peak, nearly 1,000 slaves per year escaped from slave-holding states using the Underground Railroad – more than 5,000 court cases for escaped slaves were recorded – many fewer than the natural increase of the enslaved population. The resulting economic impact was minuscule, but the psychological influence on slaveholders was immense. Under the original Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, officials from free states were required to assist slaveholders or their agents who recaptured runaway slaves, but citizens and governments of many free states ignored the law, and the Underground Railroad thrived.
With heavy lobbying by southern politicians, the Compromise of 1850 was passed by Congress after the Mexican–American War. It stipulated a more stringent Fugitive Slave Law; ostensibly, the compromise addressed regional problems by compelling officials of free states to assist slave catchers, granting them immunity to operate in free states.[10] Because the law required sparse documentation to claim a person was a fugitive, slave catchers also kidnapped free blacks, especially children, and sold them into slavery.[11] Southern politicians often exaggerated the number of escaped slaves and often blamed these escapes on Northerners interfering with Southern property rights.[12] The law deprived suspected slaves of the right to defend themselves in court, making it difficult to prove free status. In a de facto bribe,[13] judges were paid a higher fee ($10) for a decision that confirmed a suspect as a slave than for one ruling that the suspect was free ($5). Many Northerners who might have ignored slave issues in the South were confronted by local challenges that bound them to support slavery. This was a primary grievance cited by the Union during the American Civil War,[14] and the perception that Northern States ignored the fugitive slave law was a major justification for secession.[15]
Structure[edit]
See also: Vigilance committee
Harriet Tubman (photo H. B. Lindsley), c. 1870. A worker on the Underground Railroad, Tubman made 13 trips to the South, helping to free over 70 people. She led people to the northern free states and Canada. This helped Harriet Tubman gain the name "Moses of Her People".[16]
Quaker abolitionist Levi Coffin and his wife Catherine helped more than 2,000 slaves escape to freedom.
The escape network was not literally underground nor a railroad. It was figuratively "underground" in the sense of being an underground resistance. It was known as a "railroad" by way of the use of rail terminology in the code.[17] The Underground Railroad consisted of meeting points, secret routes, transportation, and safe houses, and personal assistance provided by abolitionist sympathizers. Participants generally organized in small, independent groups; this helped to maintain secrecy because individuals knew some connecting "stations" along the route but knew few details of their immediate area. Escaped slaves would move north along the route from one way station to the next. "Conductors" on the railroad came from various backgrounds and included free-born blacks, white abolitionists, former slaves (either escaped or manumitted), and Native Americans.[18] Church clergy and congregations often played a role, especially the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), Congregationalists, Wesleyans, and Reformed Presbyterians, as well as certain sects of mainstream denominations such as branches of the Methodist church and American Baptists. Without the presence and support of free black residents, there would have been almost no chance for fugitive slaves to pass into freedom unmolested.[19]
Route[edit]
To reduce the risk of infiltration, many people associated with the Underground Railroad knew only their part of the operation and not of the whole scheme. "Conductors" led or transported the fugitives from station to station. A conductor sometimes pretended to be a slave in order to enter a plantation. Once a part of a plantation, the conductor would direct the runaways to the North. Slaves traveled at night, about 10–20 miles (16–32 km) to each station. They rested, and then a message was sent to the next station to let the station master know the runaways were on their way. They would stop at the so-called "stations" or "depots" during the day and rest. The stations were often located in barns, under church floors, or in hiding places in caves and hollowed-out riverbanks.
The resting spots where the runaways could sleep and eat were given the code names "stations" and "depots", which were held by "station masters". "Stockholders" gave money or supplies for assistance. Using biblical references, fugitives referred to Canada as the "Promised Land" or "Heaven" and the Ohio River as the "River Jordan", which marked the boundary between slave states and free states.[20]
Struggle for freedom in a Maryland barn. Engraving from William Still's The Underground Rail Road, p. 50[21]
Traveling conditions[edit]
Eastman Johnson, A Ride for Liberty – The Fugitive Slaves, oil on paperboard, 22 × 26.25 inches, circa 1862, Brooklyn Museum
Although the fugitives sometimes traveled on boat or train,[22] they usually traveled on foot or by wagon in groups of one to three slaves. Some groups were considerably larger. Abolitionist Charles Turner Torrey and his colleagues rented horses and wagons and often transported as many as 15 or 20 slaves at a time.[23]
Routes were often purposely indirect to confuse pursuers. Most escapes were by individuals or small groups; occasionally, there were mass escapes, such as with the Pearl incident. The journey was often considered particularly difficult and dangerous for women or children. Children were sometimes hard to keep quiet or were unable to keep up with a group. In addition, enslaved women were rarely allowed to leave the plantation, making it harder for them to escape in the same ways that men could.[24] Although escaping was harder for women, some women were successful. One of the most famous and successful conductors (people who secretly traveled into slave states to rescue those seeking freedom) was Harriet Tubman, an escaped slave woman.[25][26]
Due to the risk of discovery, information about routes and safe havens was passed along by word of mouth. Southern newspapers of the day were often filled with pages of notices soliciting information about escaped slaves and offering sizable rewards for their capture and return. Federal marshals and professional bounty hunters known as slave catchers pursued fugitives as far as the Canada–US border.[27]
Fugitives were not the only black people at risk from slavecatchers. With demand for slaves high in the Deep South as cotton was developed, strong, healthy blacks in their prime working and reproductive years were seen and treated as highly valuable commodities. Both former slaves and free blacks were sometimes kidnapped and sold into slavery, as was Solomon Northup of Saratoga Springs, New York. "Certificates of freedom," signed, notarized statements attesting to the free status of individual blacks also known as free papers, could easily be destroyed or stolen, so provided little protection to bearers.
Some buildings, such as the Crenshaw House in far southeastern Illinois, are known sites where free blacks were sold into slavery, known as the "Reverse Underground Railroad". Under the terms of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, when suspected fugitives were seized and brought to a special magistrate known as a commissioner, they had no right to a jury trial and could not testify in their own behalf. Technically, they were guilty of no crime. The marshal or private slave-catcher needed only to swear an oath to acquire a writ of replevin for the return of property.
Congress was dominated by southern Congressmen, as apportionment was based on three-fifths of the number of slaves being counted in population totals. They passed the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 because of frustration at having fugitive slaves helped by the public and even official institutions outside the South. In some parts of the North, slave-catchers needed police protection to exercise their federal authority. Opposition to slavery did not mean that all states welcomed free blacks. For instance, Indiana, whose area along the Ohio River was settled by Southerners, passed a constitutional amendment that barred free blacks from settling in that state.
Terminology[edit]
Members of the Underground Railroad often used specific terms, based on the metaphor of the railway. For example:
People who helped slaves find the railroad were "agents" (or "shepherds")
Guides were known as "conductors"
Hiding places were "stations" or "way stations"
"Station masters" hid slaves in their homes
Escaped slaves were referred to as "passengers" or "cargo"
Slaves would obtain a "ticket"
Similar to common gospel lore, the "wheels would keep on turning"
Financial benefactors of the Railroad were known as "stockholders"[28]
The Big Dipper (whose "bowl" points to the North Star) was known as the drinkin' gourd. The Railroad was often known as the "freedom train" or "Gospel train", which headed towards "Heaven" or "the Promised Land", i.e., Canada.[29]
William Still,[30] sometimes called "The Father of the Underground Railroad", helped hundreds of slaves to escape (as many as 60 a month), sometimes hiding them in his Philadelphia home. He kept careful records, including short biographies of the people, that contained frequent railway metaphors. He maintained correspondence with many of them, often acting as a middleman in communications between escaped slaves and those left behind. He later published these accounts in the book The Underground Railroad: Authentic Narratives and First-Hand Accounts (1872), a valuable resource for historians to understand how the system worked and learn about individual ingenuity in escapes.
According to Still, messages were often encoded so that they could be understood only by those active in the railroad. For example, the following message, "I have sent via at two o'clock four large hams and two small hams", indicated that four adults and two children were sent by train from Harrisburg to Philadelphia. The additional word via indicated that the "passengers" were not sent on the usual train, but rather via Reading, Pennsylvania. In this case, the authorities were tricked into going to the regular train station in an attempt to intercept the runaways, while Still met them at the correct station and guided them to safety. They eventually escaped either to the North or to Canada, where slavery had been abolished during the 1830s.[31]
National Underground Railroad Network[edit]
Following upon legislation passed in 1990, in 1997, Congress passed H.R. 1635, which President Bill Clinton signed into law, and which authorized the United States National Park Service to establish the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom program to identify associated sites, as well as preserve them and popularize the Underground Railroad and stories of people involved in it. The National Park Service has designated many sites within the network, posted stories about people and places, sponsors an essay contest, and holds a national conference about the Underground Railroad in May or June each year.[32]
Folklore[edit]
Main articles: Quilts of the Underground Railroad and Songs of the Underground Railroad
Since the 1980s, claims have arisen that quilt designs were used to signal and direct slaves to escape routes and assistance. According to advocates of the quilt theory, ten quilt patterns were used to direct slaves to take particular actions. The quilts were placed one at a time on a fence as a means of nonverbal communication to alert escaping slaves. The code had a dual meaning: first to signal slaves to prepare to escape, and second to give clues and indicate directions on the journey.[33]
The quilt design theory is disputed. The first published work documenting an oral history source was in 1999, and the first publication of this theory is believed to be a 1980 children's book.[34] Quilt historians and scholars of pre-Civil-War America have disputed this legend.[35] There is no contemporary evidence of any sort of quilt code, and quilt historians such as Pat Cummings and Barbara Brackman have raised serious questions about the idea. In addition, Underground Railroad historian Giles Wright has published a pamphlet debunking the quilt code.
Similarly, some popular, nonacademic sources claim that spirituals and other songs, such as "Steal Away" or "Follow the Drinking Gourd", contained coded information and helped individuals navigate the railroad. They have offered little evidence to support their claims. Scholars tend to believe that while the slave songs may certainly have expressed hope for deliverance from the sorrows of this world, these songs did not present literal help for runaway slaves.[36]
The Underground Railroad inspired cultural works. For example, "Song of the Free", written in 1860 about a man fleeing slavery in Tennessee by escaping to Canada, was composed to the tune of "Oh! Susanna". Every stanza ends with a reference to Canada as the land "where colored men are free". Slavery in Upper Canada (now Ontario) was outlawed in 1793; in 1819, John Robinson, the Attorney General of Upper Canada, declared that by residing in Canada, black residents were set free, and that Canadian courts would[37] protect their freedom. Slavery in Canada as a whole had been in rapid decline after an 1803 court ruling, and was finally abolished outright in 1834.
Legal and political[edit]
When frictions between North and South culminated in the Civil War, many blacks, slave and free, fought for the Union Army.[38] Following Union victory in the Civil War, on December 6, 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution outlawed slavery.[39] Following its passage, in some cases the Underground Railroad operated in the opposite direction, as fugitives returned to the United States.[40]
Criticism[edit]
Frederick Douglass, writer, statesman, and an escaped slave, wrote critically of the Underground Railroad in his seminal autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave:
I have never approved of the very public manner in which some of our western friends have conducted what they call the Underground Railroad, but which I think, by their open declarations, has been made most emphatically the upperground railroad.
He went on to say that, although he honors the movement, he feels that the efforts serve more to enlighten the slave-owners than the slaves, making them more watchful and making it more difficult for future slaves to escape.[41]
Arrival in Canada[edit]
International Underground Railroad Memorial in Windsor, Ontario
John Brown participated in the Underground Railroad.
Estimates vary widely, but at least 30,000 slaves, and potentially more than 100,000, escaped to Canada via the Underground Railroad.[7] The largest group settled in Upper Canada (Ontario), called Canada West from 1841.[42] Numerous Black Canadian communities developed in Southern Ontario. These were generally in the triangular region bounded by Niagara Falls, Toronto, and Windsor. Several rural villages made up mostly of ex-slaves were established in Kent and Essex counties.
Fort Malden in Amherstburg, Ontario, was deemed the "chief place of entry" for slaves seeking to enter Canada. The abolitionist Levi Coffin supported this assessment, describing Fort Malden as "the great landing place, the principle terminus of the underground railroad of the west."[43] After 1850, approximately thirty fugitive slaves a day were crossing over to Fort Malden by steamboat.[44]:15 The Sultana was one of such ships and made "frequent round trips" between Great Lakes ports. Its captain, C.W. Appleby, a celebrated mariner, facilitated the conveyance of several fugitive slaves from various Lake Erie ports to Fort Malden.[44]:110
Another important center of population was Nova Scotia, for example Africville and other villages near Halifax (see Black Nova Scotians). Many of these settlements were started by Black Loyalists after the American Revolutionary War. Important black settlements also developed in other parts of British North America (now parts of Canada). These included Lower Canada (present-day Quebec) and Vancouver Island, where Governor James Douglas encouraged black immigration because of his opposition to slavery. He also hoped a significant black community would form a bulwark against those who wished to unite the island with the United States.[citation needed]
Upon arriving at their destinations, many fugitives were disappointed, as life in Canada was difficult. While the British colonies had no slavery after 1834, discrimination was still common. Many of the new arrivals had to compete with mass European immigration for jobs, and overt racism was common. For example, in reaction to Black Loyalists being settled in eastern Canada by the Crown, the city of Saint John, New Brunswick, amended its charter in 1785 specifically to exclude blacks from practicing a trade, selling goods, fishing in the harbour, or becoming freemen; these provisions stood until 1870.[45]
With the outbreak of the Civil War in the U.S., many black refugees left Canada to enlist in the Union Army. While some later returned to Canada, many remained in the United States. Thousands of others returned to the American South after the war ended. The desire to reconnect with friends and family was strong, and most were hopeful about the changes emancipation and Reconstruction would bring.
Notable people[edit]
Henry Box Brown
John Brown
Owen Brown
Samuel Burris
Obadiah Bush
Levi Coffin
Elizabeth Rous Comstock
George Corson[46][47]
Moses Dickson[48]
Frederick Douglass[49][50]
Asa Drury
Calvin Fairbank
Matilda Joslyn Gage
Thomas Galt[51]
Thomas Garrett[52]
William Lloyd Garrison
Sydney Howard Gay[53]
Josiah Bushnell Grinnell
Laura Smith Haviland[54]
Lewis Hayden[55]
Josiah Henson[56]
Roger Hooker Leavitt
Isaac Hopper[57]
John Hunn[58]
Jermain Wesley Loguen[59]
Samuel Joseph May[60]
John Berry Meachum
Mary Meachum[61]
William M. Mitchell[62]
James Mott[63]
Lucretia Coffin Mott[63]
Solomon Northup[64]
John Parker[65]
John Wesley Posey[66]
Amy and Isaac Post
John Rankin[67]
Alexander Milton Ross
David Ruggles[68]
Gerrit Smith[69]
George Luther Stearns
William Still[70]
Lewis Tappan[71]
Charles Turner Torrey[72]
William Troy
Sojourner Truth
Harriet Tubman[73]
Jonathan Walker
John Greenleaf Whittier
Martha Coffin Wright
Joseph Parrish Thompson
Related events[edit]
1776 – Declaration of Independence
1793 – Act Against Slavery
1800 – Second Great Awakening
1820 – Missouri Compromise
1850 – Compromise of 1850
1850 – Fugitive Slave Act
1851 – Jerry Rescue
1854 – Kansas–Nebraska Act
1857 – Dred Scott decision
1858 – Oberlin–Wellington Rescue
1860 – Abraham Lincoln of Illinois elected the first Republican U.S. President
1861 through 1865 – American Civil War
1863 – Emancipation Proclamation issued by President Lincoln
1865 – Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Inspirations for fiction[edit]
The Underground Railroad was the inspiration for a faction in Fallout 4, the Railroad, consisting of safehouses for synthetic humanoids who escaped another faction known as the Institute.
The Underground Railroad is a 2016 novel by Colson Whitehead. It won the 2016 National Book Award and the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.[74]
Underground is an American television series that premiered in 2016, on WGN America.
Contemporary literature[edit]
David Walker (1829) Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World
Harriet Beecher Stowe (1852) Uncle Tom's Cabin
Caroline Lee Hentz (1854) The Planter's Northern Bride
William M. Mitchell (1860) The Under-Ground Railroad[75]
Sarah Hopkins Bradford (1869) Scenes in the Life of Harriet Tubman; (1896) Harriet Tubman, Moses of Her People
See also[edit]
African American portal
Ausable Chasm, NY, home of the North Star Underground Railroad Museum
Bilger's Rocks
Fort Mose Historic State Park
List of Underground Railroad sites
Reverse Underground Railroad
Slave codes
The Holocaust in Norway#Escape to Sweden, an "underground railroad" during the Holocaust in Norway
Notes[edit]
Jump up ^ National Geographic Society
Jump up ^ "Underground Railroad". dictionary.com. Retrieved July 17, 2011. 'A network of houses and other places abolitionists used to help enslaved Africans escape to freedom in the northern states or in Canada...' —American Heritage Dictionary
Jump up ^ "The Underground Railroad". Public Broadcasting Service. Retrieved July 25, 2007.
Jump up ^ "Purpose and Background". Taking the Train to Freedom. National Park Service. Retrieved July 17, 2011
Jump up ^ Smith, Bruce (March 18, 2012). "For a century, Underground Railroad ran south". Google News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on March 21, 2012. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
^ Jump up to: a b Vox, Lisa, "How Did Slaves Resist Slavery?", African-American History, About.com, Retrieved July 17, 2011.
^ Jump up to: a b "Settling Canada Underground Railroad". Historica. Between 1840 and 1860, more than 30,000 American slaves came secretly to Canada and freedom
Jump up ^ "From slavery to freedom" Archived July 13, 2007, at the Wayback Machine., The Grapevine, pp. 3–5.
Jump up ^ Jr, Deborah Gray White, Mia Bay, Waldo E. Martin (2013). Freedom on My Mind: A History of African Americans, with documents. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's. p. 287. ISBN 978-0-312-64883-1.
Jump up ^ Potter, David, 1976 pp. 132–139
Jump up ^ Bordewich, Fergus, 2005, p. 324
Jump up ^ Gara, Larry. Underground Railroad. National Park Service. p. 8.
Jump up ^ Douglass, Frederick (July 5, 1852), "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro", History Is a Weapon, Retrieved July 17, 2011.
Jump up ^ Potter, David, 1976, p. 139
Jump up ^ "Avalon Project - Confederate States of America - Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union". Avalon.law.yale.edu. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
Jump up ^ Larson, p. xvii.
Jump up ^ Blight, David, 2004, p. 3
Jump up ^ Society, National Geographic (2011-11-16). "The Underground Railroad". National Geographic Society. Retrieved 2017-08-01.
Jump up ^ Pinsker, Matthew (2000). Vigilance in Pennsylvania: Underground Railroad Activities in the Keystone State, 1837–1861. Lancaster: PHMC.
Jump up ^ "Underground Railroad Codes" (PDF). Myths and Codes of the Underground Railroad. Safe Passage. Greater Cincinnati Television Educational Foundation. p. 20. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
Jump up ^ Dictated by Robert Jackson a.k.a. Wesley Harris on 2 November 1853. "Engravings by Bensell, Schell, and others."
Jump up ^ Bordewich, Fergus, 2005, p. 236
Jump up ^ Torrey, E. Fuller (2013). The Martyrdom of Abolitionist Charles Torrey. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press.
Jump up ^ Blackett, Richard (October 2014). "The Underground Railroad and the Struggle Against Slavery". History Workshop Journal. 78 (1): 279. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
Jump up ^ Wellington, Darryl Lorenzo (January 20, 2004). "The most famous abductor on the Underground Railroad". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
Jump up ^ "Underground Railroad - Black History - HISTORY.com". HISTORY.com. Retrieved 2017-08-01.
Jump up ^ Potter, David, 1976, p. 133
Jump up ^ Blight, David, 2004, p. 98
Jump up ^ "History - National Underground Railroad Freedom Center". Freedomcenter.org. Retrieved 2016-06-07.
Jump up ^ Blight, David, 2004, p. 175
Jump up ^ Still, William (1872). The Underground Railroad: Authentic Narratives and First-Hand Accounts. ASIN B00264GNTU.
Jump up ^ https://www.nps.gov/subjects/ugrr/index.htm
Jump up ^ Williams, Ozella McDaniels, 1999.
Jump up ^ Aronson, Marc (April 1, 2007). "History That Never Happened". School Library Journal. Retrieved March 31, 2011.
Jump up ^ Stukin, Stacie. "Unravelling the Myth of Quilts and the Underground Railroad". Time.com. Time. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
Jump up ^ Kelley, James (April 2008). "Song, Story, or History: Resisting Claims of a Coded Message in the African American Spiritual 'Follow the Drinking Gourd'". The Journal of Popular Culture. 41 (2): 262–280. doi:10.1111/j.1540-5931.2008.00502.x.
Jump up ^ "Black History-From Slavery to Settlement". Archives.gov.on.ca. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
Jump up ^ Mark Lardas, African American Soldier in the Civil War: USCT, 1862-66
Jump up ^ Ann Heinrichs, The Underground Railroad
Jump up ^ Gindy, Gaye E. (2008). The Underground Railroad and Sylvania's Historic Lathrop House. p. 20. ISBN 9781434367617.
Jump up ^ Douglass, Frederick. (1845) Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Dover Publications. Chapter 11.
Jump up ^ Bordewich, Fergus, 2005, p. 379
Jump up ^ Fred Landon, "Amherstburg, Terminus of the Underground Railroad," The Journal of Negro History 10, no.1 (1925): 5.
^ Jump up to: a b Tom Calarco, Places of the Underground Railroad: A Geographical Guide (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2011)
Jump up ^ "Arrival of the Black Loyalists: Saint John's Black Community" Archived May 19, 2011, at the Wayback Machine., Heritage Resources Saint John
Jump up ^ William Still, "George Corson," The Underground Rail Road, (Philadelphia: Porter & Coates, 1872), pp. 721-23.
Jump up ^ "Letters: Underground Railroad site threatened in Montco". Articles.philly.com. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
Jump up ^ Kwame Anthony Appiah and Henry Louis Gates Jr, Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience, Oxford University Press, 1999 ISBN 978-0195170559
Jump up ^ "Aboard the Underground Railroad" - Boston African American NHS. Nps.gov (1962-09-05). Retrieved on 2013-08-16.
Jump up ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on November 24, 2011. Retrieved December 3, 2011.
Jump up ^ "For the People: A Newsletter of the Abraham Lincoln Association v.8 number 1 Spring 2006, Springfield, Illinois" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-10-25.
Jump up ^ Foner pg. 155-159
Jump up ^ Foner pg. 9-10
Jump up ^ Carlarco pg. 144-152
Jump up ^ Calarco p. 153
Jump up ^ Calarco p. 290
Jump up ^ Foner pg. 57-58, 88-90
Jump up ^ Foner p 156
Jump up ^ Foner p. 180
Jump up ^ Foner pg. 146-147
Jump up ^ "Mary Meachum and the Underground Railroad". St. Louis Public Radio. October 9, 2012. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
Jump up ^ Calarco pg. 210–211
^ Jump up to: a b Foner p. 143
Jump up ^ Calarco pg. 222-224
Jump up ^ Calarco pg. 225-228
Jump up ^ Calarco pg. 236-238
Jump up ^ Calarco pg. 242-250
Jump up ^ Foner pg. 2-3
Jump up ^ Foner pg. 58-59 123-124
Jump up ^ Foner p. 13
Jump up ^ Foner p. 8
Jump up ^ Foner pg. 87-88
Jump up ^ Foner pg. 190-94
Jump up ^ "The 2017 Pulitzer Prize Winner in Fiction". pulitzer.org. Retrieved 2017-04-10.
Jump up ^ Mitchell, William (1860). The Under-Ground Railroad. W. Tweedie. Wikisource. [scan]
References[edit]
Blight, David W. (2004). Passages to Freedom: The Underground Railroad in History and Memory. Smithsonian Books. ISBN 1-58834-157-7.
Bordewich, Fergus M. (2005). Bound for Canaan: The Underground Railroad and the War for the Soul of America. Harper Collins. ISBN 0-06-052430-8.
Calarco, Tom (2008). People of the Underground Railroad: A Biographical Dictionary. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0313339244.
Chadwick, Bruce (2000). Traveling the Underground Railroad: A Visitor's Guide to More Than 300 Sites. Citadel Press. ISBN 0-8065-2093-0.
Frost, Karolyn Smardz; Osei, Kwasi (2007). I've Got a Home in Glory Land: A Lost Tale of the Underground Railroad. Farrar, Straus & Giroux. ISBN 978-0-374-16481-2.
Foner, Eric (2015). Gateway To Freedom: The Hidden History of the Underground Railroad. New York, NY: Norton. ISBN 0393244075
Forbes, Ella (1998) But We Have No Country: The 1851 Christiana Pennsylvania Resistance. Africana Homestead Legacy Publishers.
Griffler, Keith P.(2004) Front Line of Freedom: African Americans and the Forging of the Underground Railroad in the Ohio Valley. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0-8131-2298-8.
Hagedorn, Ann (2004). Beyond the River: The Untold Story of the Heroes of the Underground Railroad. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-684-87066-5.
Hendrick, George; Willene Hendrick (2010), Black refugees in Canada: accounts of escape during the era of slavery, McFarland & Co, ISBN 9780786447336
Hendrick, George, & Hendrick, Willene (2003). Fleeing for Freedom: Stories of the Underground Railroad As Told by Levi Coffin and William Still. Ivan R. Dee Publisher. ISBN 1-56663-546-2. CS1 maint: Uses authors parameter (link)
Hudson, J. Blaine (2002). Fugitive Slaves and the Underground Railroad in the Kentucky Borderland. McFarland & Company. ISBN 0-7864-1345-X.
LaRoche, Cheryl Janifer (2014). Free Black Communities and the Underground Railroad: The Geography of Resistance. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press.
Potter, David M. (1976). The Impending Crisis, 1848–1861. ISBN 0-06-131929-5.
"Operating the Underground Railroad". National Park Service.
"Part 4: 1831-1865 Narrative, The Underground Railroad". Africans in America c.1780 - 1862: Judgment Day. PBS.
Further reading[edit]
Library resources about
the Underground Railroad
Online books
Resources in your library
Resources in other libraries
Blackett, R.J.M. (2013). Making Freedom: The Underground Railroad and the Politics of Slavery. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press.
Curtis, Anna L. (1941). Stories of the Underground Railroad. Archived from the original on March 31, 2012. CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link) (Stories about Thomas Garrett, a famous agent on the Underground Railroad)
Frost, Karolyn Smardz (2007). I've Got a Home in Glory Land: A Lost Tale of the Underground Railroad. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Larson, Kate Clifford (2004). Bound For the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman, Portrait of an American Hero. New York: Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-45627-0.
Still, William (1872). The Underground Railroad: A Record of Facts, Authentic Narratives, Letters, &c., Narrating the Hardships, Hair-Breadth Escapes and Death Struggles of the Slaves in Their Efforts for Freedom, As Related by Themselves and Others, or Witnessed by the Author. Philadelphia: Porter & Coates. (Classic book documenting the Underground Railroad operations in Philadelphia).
Public domain ebook at Project Gutenberg
The Underground Railroad public domain audiobook at LibriVox
Folklore and myth[edit]
"Documentary Evidence is Missing on Underground Railroad Quilts". historyofquilts.com.
"New Jersey's Underground Railroad Myth-Buster: Giles Wright is on a Mission to Fine Tune Black History". Historic Camden County.
"Putting it in Perspective: The Symbolism of Underground Railroad quilts". quilthistory.com.
"Underground Railroad Quilts & Abolitionist Fairs". Womenfolk.com.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Underground Railroad.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Underground Railroad.
Underground Railroad Studies
Underground Railroad Timeline
Friends of the Underground Railroad
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
Underground Railroad Research Institute at Georgetown College
Underground Railroad in Buffalo and Upstate New York: A bibliography by The Buffalo History Museum
[hide]
v
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Underground Railroad
People
William L. Chaplin
Levi Coffin
Richard Dillingham
Calvin Fairbank
Thomas Garrett
Laura Smith Haviland
Daniel Hughes
William Cooper Nell
Harriet Forten Purvis
Robert Purvis
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Places
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Jerry Rescue (1851)
Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852 book)
Dred: A Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp (1856 book)
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Thirteenth Amendment (1865)
Topics
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opponents of slavery
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1850
Quilts
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Related
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
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visitor center
The Railroad to Freedom: A Story of the Civil War (1932 book)
A Woman Called Moses (1978 miniseries)
Roots of Resistance (1989 documentary)
The Quest for Freedom (1992 film)
Freedom: The Underground Railroad (2013 board game)
Underground (2016 TV series)
See also: Slavery in the United States and Slavery in Canada
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Harriet Tubman
Events
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Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Underground_Railroad&oldid=822308299"
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Social Security number
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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A Social Security card issued by the Railroad Retirement Board in 1943 to a now deceased person.
In the United States, a Social Security number (SSN) is a nine-digit number issued to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and temporary (working) residents under section 205(c)(2) of the Social Security Act, codified as 42 U.S.C. § 405(c)(2). The number is issued to an individual by the Social Security Administration, an independent agency of the United States government. Although its primary purpose is to track individuals for Social Security purposes,[1] the Social Security number has become a de facto national identification number for taxation and other purposes.[2]
A Social Security number may be obtained by applying on Form SS-5, Application for A Social Security Number Card.[3]
Contents
[hide]
1 History
2 Purpose and use
2.1 Non-universal status
2.2 Use required for federal tax purposes
3 Types of Social Security cards
4 Identity theft
5 Replacement numbers
6 Structure
7 Historical structure
7.1 Exhaustion and re-use
7.2 Valid SSNs
8 SSNs used in advertising
9 See also
10 References
11 External links
History[edit]
Social Security numbers were first issued by the Social Security Administration in November 1935 as part of the New Deal Social Security program. Within three months, 25 million numbers were issued.[4]
On November 24, 1936, 1,074 of the nation's 45,000 post offices were designated "typing centers" to type up Social Security cards that were then sent to Washington, D.C. On December 1, 1936, as part of the publicity campaign for the new program, Joseph L. Fay of the Social Security Administration selected a record from the top of the first stack of 1,000 records and announced that the first Social Security number in history was assigned to John David Sweeney, Jr., of New Rochelle, New York.[5][6]
Before 1986, people often did not obtain a Social Security number until the age of about 14,[7] since the numbers were used for income tracking purposes, and those under that age seldom had substantial income.[8] The Tax Reform Act of 1986 required parents to list Social Security numbers for each dependent over the age of 5 for whom the parent wanted to claim a tax deduction.[9] Before this act, parents claiming tax deductions were simply trusted not to lie about the number of children they supported. During the first year of the Tax Reform Act, this anti-fraud change resulted in seven million fewer minor dependents being claimed. The disappearance of these dependents is believed to have involved either children who never existed or tax deductions improperly claimed by non-custodial parents.[10] In 1988, the threshold was lowered to 2 years old, and in 1990, the threshold was lowered yet again to 1 year old.[11] Today, an SSN is required regardless of the child's age to receive an exemption.[citation needed] Since then, parents have often applied for Social Security numbers for their children soon after birth; today, it can be done on the application for a birth certificate.[12]
Purpose and use[edit]
The original purpose of this number was to track individuals' accounts within the Social Security program. It has since come to be used as an identifier for individuals within the United States, although rare errors occur where duplicates do exist. As numbers are now assigned by the central issuing office of the SSA, it is unlikely that duplication will ever occur again. A few duplications did occur when prenumbered cards were sent out to regional SSA offices and (originally) Post Offices.
Employee, patient, student, and credit records are sometimes indexed by Social Security number.
The U.S. Armed Forces has used the Social Security number as an identification number for Army and Air Force personnel since July 1, 1969, the Navy and Marine Corps for their personnel since January 1, 1972, and the Coast Guard for their personnel since October 1, 1974.[13] Previously, the United States military used a much more complicated system of service numbers that varied by service.
Beginning in June 2011, DOD began removing the Social Security number from military identification cards. It is replaced by a unique DOD identification number, formerly known as the EDIPI.[14]
Non-universal status[edit]
An old Social Security card with the "not for identification" message
Social Security was originally a universal tax, but when Medicare was passed in 1965, objecting religious groups in existence prior to 1951 were allowed to opt out of the system.[15] Because of this, not every American is part of the Social Security program, and not everyone has a number. However, a social security number is required for parents to claim their children as dependents for federal income tax purposes,[12] and the Internal Revenue Service requires all corporations to obtain SSNs (or alternative identifying numbers) from their employees, as described below. The Old Order Amish have fought to prevent universal Social Security by overturning rules such as a requirement to provide a Social Security number for a hunting license.[16]
Social Security cards printed from January 1946 until January 1972 expressly stated that people should not use the number and card for identification.[17] Since nearly everyone in the United States now has an SSN, it became convenient to use it anyway and the message was removed.[18]
Since then, Social Security numbers have become de facto national identification numbers.[2] Although some people do not have an SSN assigned to them, it is becoming increasingly difficult to engage in legitimate financial activities such as applying for a loan or a bank account without one.[19] While the government cannot require an individual to disclose their SSN without a legal basis, companies may refuse to provide service to an individual who does not provide an SSN.[20][21] The card on which an SSN is issued is still not suitable for primary identification as it has no photograph, no physical description and no birth date. All it does is confirm that a particular number has been issued to a particular name. Instead, a driver's license or state ID card is used as an identification for adults.
Use required for federal tax purposes[edit]
Internal Revenue Code section 6109(d) provides: "The social security account number issued to an individual for purposes of section 205(c)(2)(A) of the Social Security Act [codified as 42 U.S.C. § 405(c)(2)(A)] shall, except as shall otherwise be specified under regulations of the Secretary [of the Treasury or his delegate], be used as the identifying number for such individual for purposes of this title [the Internal Revenue Code, title 26 of the United States Code]."[22]
The Internal Revenue Code also provides, when required by regulations prescribed by the Secretary [of the Treasury or his delegate]:
Inclusion in returns: Any person required under the authority of this title to make a return, statement, or other document shall include in such return, statement, or other document such identifying number as may be prescribed for securing proper identification of such person.
Furnishing number to other persons: Any person with respect to whom a return, statement, or other document is required under the authority of this title to be made by another person or whose identifying number is required to be shown on a return of another person shall furnish to such other person such identifying number as may be prescribed for securing his proper identification.[23]
According to U.S. Treasury regulations, any person who, after October 31, 1962, works as an employee for wages subject to Social Security taxes, Medicare taxes, or U.S. federal income tax withholdings is required to apply for "an account number" using "Form SS-5."[24]
A taxpayer who is not eligible to have a Social Security number must obtain an alternative Taxpayer Identification Number.
Types of Social Security cards[edit]
Three different types of Social Security cards are issued. The most common type contains the cardholder's name and number. Such cards are issued to U.S. citizens and U.S. permanent residents. There are also two restricted types of Social Security cards:
One reads "not valid for employment." Such cards cannot be used as proof of work authorization, and are not acceptable as a List C document on the I-9 form.
The other reads "valid for work only with DHS authorization", or the older, "valid for work only with INS authorization." These cards are issued to people who have temporary work authorization in the U.S. They can satisfy the I-9 requirement, if they are accompanied by a work authorization card.
In 2004 Congress passed The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act; parts of which mandated that the Social Security Administration redesign the Social Security Number (SSN) Card to prevent forgery. From April 2006 through August 2007, Social Security Administration (SSA) and Government Printing Office (GPO) employees were assigned to redesign the Social Security Number Card to the specifications of the Interagency Task Force created by the Commissioner of Social Security in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security.
The new SSN card design utilizes both covert and overt security features created by the SSA and GPO design teams.
Identity theft[edit]
Dog tag from World War II (possibly Army-Air Corps), labeled "P" for Protestant.
Many citizens and privacy advocates are concerned about the disclosure and processing of Social Security numbers. Furthermore, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have demonstrated an algorithm that uses publicly available personal information to reconstruct a given SSN.[25]
The SSN is frequently used by those involved in identity theft, since it is interconnected with many other forms of identification, and because people asking for it treat it as an authenticator. Financial institutions generally require an SSN to set up bank accounts, credit cards, and loans—partly because they assume that no one except the person it was issued to knows it.
Exacerbating the problem of using the social security number as an identifier is the fact that the social security card contains no biometric identifiers of any sort, making it essentially impossible to tell whether a person using a certain SSN truly belongs to someone without relying on other documentation (which may itself have been falsely procured through use of the fraudulent SSN). Congress has proposed federal laws that restrict the use of SSNs for identification and bans their use for a number of commercial purposes—e.g., rental applications.[26]
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) offers alternatives to SSNs in some places where providing untrusted parties with identification numbers is essential. Tax return preparers must obtain and use a Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) to include on their client's tax returns (as part of signature requirements). Day care services have tax benefits, and even a sole proprietor should give parents an EIN (employer identification number) to use on their tax return.
The Social Security Administration has suggested that, if asked to provide his or her Social Security number, a citizen should ask which law requires its use.[27] In accordance with §7213 of the 9/11 Commission Implementation Act of 2004 and 20 C.F.R. 422.103(e)(2), the number of replacement Social Security cards per person is generally limited to three per calendar year and ten in a lifetime.[27]
Identity confusion has also occurred because of the use of local Social Security numbers by the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau, whose numbers overlap with those of residents of New Hampshire and Maine.[28]
Replacement numbers[edit]
A person can request a new Social Security number, but only under certain conditions;[29]
Where sequential numbers assigned to members of the same family are causing problems.
In the event of duplicates having been issued.
In cases where the person has been a victim of domestic violence or harassment, and there is a clear need to change their number for their personal safety.[30]
When a person has been a victim of identity theft, and their Social Security number continues to be problematic.
Where a person has a demonstrable religious objection to a number (such as certain Christians being averse to the number 666).
For all of these conditions, credible third-party evidence such as a restraining order or police report, is required.
Structure[edit]
The Social Security number is a nine-digit number in the format "AAA-GG-SSSS".[31] The number is divided into three parts.
On June 25, 2011, the SSA changed the SSN assignment process to "SSN randomization".[32] SSN randomization affects the SSN assignment process in the following ways:
It eliminates the geographical significance of the first three digits of the SSN, previously referred to as the Area Number, by no longer allocating the Area Numbers for assignment to individuals in specific states.
It eliminates the significance of the highest group number and, as a result, the High Group List is frozen in time and can be used for validation of only those SSNs issued prior to the randomization implementation date (see section “Valid SSNs”).
Previously unassigned area numbers have been introduced for assignment excluding area numbers 000, 666 and 900–999.
Note: Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) are issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), so they are not affected by this SSA change.
Historical structure[edit]
Prior to 2011, the first three digits known as the area number were assigned by geographical region. Prior to 1973, cards were issued in local Social Security offices around the country and the area number represented the office code where the card was issued. This did not necessarily have to be in the area where the applicant lived, since a person could apply for their card in any Social Security office. Since 1973, when the SSA began assigning SSNs and issuing cards centrally from Baltimore, the area number assigned has been based on the ZIP code in the mailing address provided on the application for the original Social Security card. The applicant's mailing address does not have to be the same as their place of residence. Thus, the area number does not necessarily represent the state of residence of the applicant regardless of whether the card was issued prior to, or after, 1973. Wikipedia has a list of Social Security Area Numbers for each state.
Generally, numbers were assigned beginning in the northeast and moving south and westward, so that people on the east coast had the lowest numbers and those on the west coast had the highest numbers. As the areas assigned to a locality are exhausted, new areas from the pool are assigned, so some states have noncontiguous groups of numbers.
The middle two digits are the group number. The group numbers range from 01 to 99. However, they are not assigned in consecutive order. For administrative reasons, group numbers are issued in the following order:[33]
odd numbers from 01 through 09.
even numbers from 10 through 98.
even numbers from 02 through 08.
odd numbers from 11 through 99.
As an example, group number 98 is issued before 11.
The last four digits are serial numbers. They represent a straight numerical sequence of digits from 0001 to 9999 within the group.
Exhaustion and re-use[edit]
The Social Security Administration does not reuse Social Security numbers. It has issued over 450 million since the start of the program, and at a use rate of about 5.5 million per year it says it has enough to last several generations without reuse or changing the number of digits.[34] However, there have been instances where multiple individuals have been inadvertently assigned the same Social Security number.[35]
Valid SSNs[edit]
Prior to June 25, 2011, a valid SSN could not have an area number between 734 and 749, or above 772, the highest area number the Social Security Administration has allocated. Effective June 25, 2011, the SSA assigns SSNs randomly and allows for the assignment of area numbers between 734 and 749 and above 772 through the 800s.[36] This should not be confused with Tax Identification Numbers (TINs), which include additional area numbers.[37]
Some special numbers are never allocated:
Numbers with all zeros in any digit group (000-##-####, ###-00-####, ###-##-0000).[38][39]
Numbers with 666 or 900-999 (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) in the first digit group.[38]
Until 2011, the SSA published the last group number used for each area number.[40] Since group numbers were allocated in a regular pattern, it was possible to identify an unissued SSN that contained an invalid group number. Now numbers are assigned randomly, and fraudulent SSNs are not easily detectable with publicly available information. Many online services, however, provide SSN validation.
Unlike many similar numbers, no check digit is included.
SSNs used in advertising[edit]
The promotional Social Security card as distributed by the F.W. Woolworth Company
Some SSNs used in advertising have rendered those numbers invalid. One famous instance of this occurred in 1938 when the E. H. Ferree Company in Lockport, New York, decided to promote its product by showing how a Social Security card would fit into its wallets. A sample card, used for display purposes, was placed in each wallet, which was sold by Woolworth and other department stores across the country; the wallet manufacturer's vice president and treasurer Douglas Patterson used the actual SSN of his secretary, Hilda Schrader Whitcher.
Even though the card was printed in red (the real card is printed in blue) and had "Specimen" printed across the front, many people used Whitcher's SSN as their own. The Social Security Administration's account of the incident also claims that the fake card was half the size of a real card, despite a miniature card's being useless for its purpose and despite Whitcher's holding two cards of apparently identical size in the accompanying photograph. Over time, the number that appeared (078-05-1120) has been claimed by a total of over 40,000 people as their own.[41] The SSA initiated an advertising campaign stating that it was incorrect to use the number. (Hilda Whitcher was issued a new SSN.) However, the number was found to be in use by 12 individuals as late as 1977.[41]
More recently, Todd Davis distributed his SSN in advertisements for his company's LifeLock identity theft protection service, which allowed his identity to be stolen over a dozen times.[42][43]
See also[edit]
Cadastro de Pessoas Físicas
Death Master File
Feature creep
INSEE code
Italian fiscal code card
Kennitala
National Insurance number
National Registration Identity Card
NHI Number
NIE Number
Permanent account number
Personally identifiable information
PESEL
PPS number
Social Insurance Number
Tax file number
Uniform civil number
Unique Population Registry Code
References[edit]
Jump up ^ "The Story of the Social Security Number". Ssa.gov. Retrieved 2012-08-20.
^ Jump up to: a b Kouri, Jim (March 9, 2005). "Social Security Cards: De Facto National Identification". American Chronicle. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012.
Jump up ^ 20 C.F.R. 422.103(b)
Jump up ^ "Social Security Online". Ssa.gov. Retrieved 2011-02-23.
Jump up ^ "The First Social Security Number and the Lowest Number". Social Security History. United States Social Security Administration. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
Jump up ^ "First Applicant on Pension List". Ogden Standard Examiner. Ogden, Utah. December 2, 1936. p. 8.
Jump up ^ Long, Wayne S. (Spring 1993). "Social Security Numbers Issued: A 20-Year Review" (PDF). Social Security Journal. 56 (1): 82. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
Jump up ^ Goldberg, Jack (1993). "A strategy for assembling samples of adult twin pairs in the United States". Statistics in Medicine. 12: 1693–1702. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
Jump up ^ "Tax Reform Act of 1986". Social Security History. United States Social Security Administration. Retrieved July 27, 2015. ("Unlike the PIN the SSN is not universally assigned, nor is it issued at birth. In the U.S., assignment of the SSN occurs traditionally when an individual joins the workforce, usually as a teenager. The age at SSN issuance, however, has been declining for decades“ and recent changes in the tax law now require that all infants claimed as dependants must have an SSN by one year of age.")
Jump up ^ Jeffrey B. Liebman (December 2000). "Who Are the Ineligible EITC Recipients?". National Tax Journal. 53: 1165–1186.
Jump up ^ "Social Security Number Chronology". Social Security Administration.
^ Jump up to: a b "Social Security Numbers For Children". Social Security Administration.
Jump up ^ "National Personnel Records Center". National Archives.
Jump up ^ "DOD removes SSAN from ID cards".
Jump up ^ "The Amish & Social Security". Amishnews.com. Retrieved 2011-02-23.
Jump up ^ "Amish reject giving Social Security numbers to get licenses". The Chippewa Herald. August 30, 1999. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
Jump up ^ "Version History". Social Security History. United States Social Security Administration. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
Jump up ^ Pear, Robert (July 26, 1998). "The Nation; Not for Identification Purposes (Just Kidding)". The New York Times. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
Jump up ^ "Social Security Number Not Required". Scribd.com. 2008-04-29. Retrieved 2011-02-23.
Jump up ^ Charles H. Mullen, Associate Commissioner (March 18, 1998), Letter to Mr. Scott McDonald (PDF), Office of Public Enquiries, Social Security Administration, retrieved July 27, 2015
Jump up ^ "Can I refuse to give my Social Security number to a private business?". Frequently Asked Questions. United States Social Security Administration. May 1, 2014.
Jump up ^ 26 U.S.C. § 6109(d).
Jump up ^ See 26 U.S.C. § 6109(a).
Jump up ^ See 26 C.F.R. sec. 31.6011(b)-2(a)(1)(ii).
Jump up ^ "New algorithm guesses SSNs using date and place of birth". Ars Technica. July 2009.
Jump up ^ Broache, Anne. "Congress may slap restrictions on SSN use - CNET News". News.cnet.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-11. Retrieved 2011-02-23.
^ Jump up to: a b "Your Social Security Number And Card, "How can I protect my Social Security number?"". Social Security Administration.
Jump up ^ Meyer, Bill (August 2009). "How many Americans' Social Security numbers were officially duplicated for Pacific islanders?". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 2012-08-20.
Jump up ^ "Social Security: Frequently Asked Questions - Can I change my Social Security number?". Social Security Administration. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
Jump up ^ "New Numbers for Domestic Violence Victims" (PDF). Social Security Administration. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
Jump up ^ Social Security Administration. "The SSN Numbering Scheme". Retrieved December 25, 2010.
Jump up ^ "Social Security Number Randomization". Socialsecurity.gov. Retrieved 2011-02-23.
Jump up ^ "The SSN Numbering Scheme". Socialsecurity.gov. Retrieved 2011-02-23.
Jump up ^ "Q20: Are Social Security numbers reused after a person dies?". Frequently Asked Questions. United States Social Security Administration. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
Jump up ^ "A tale of two women: same birthday, same Social Security number, same big-data mess". PC World. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
Jump up ^ "List of valid area numbers". Social Security Administration. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
Jump up ^ "Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TIN)". Internal Revenue Service.
^ Jump up to: a b "Which Social Security numbers are invalid?". Social Security Administration. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
Jump up ^ "RM 10201.035 Invalid Social Security Numbers (SSNs)". Program Operations Manual System (POMS). United States Social Security Administration. June 23, 2011. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
Jump up ^ "List currently allocated group numbers for each area number". Social Security Administration. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b "The story of the most misused number of all time.." Social Security Administration.
Jump up ^ Kim Zetter, CEO's Identity Stolen 13 Times, Wired (May 18, 2010).
Jump up ^ Jaikumar Vijayan, LifeLock CEO said to be victim of identity theft 13 times, ComputerWorld (May 19, 2010)]
External links[edit]
Social Security Administration
Social Security Death Index Database listing over 85 million SSNs, all of which entered the public domain upon the death of their owners
The Woolworth Card: The SSN 078-05-1120 has been claimed by thousands of people since the late 1930s
Social Security Cards Issued by Woolworth: "The story of the most misused number of all time"
Complete list of area number groups from the Social Security Administration
Social Security Administration's FAQ for Social Security Numbers
Social Security card application
Hearing on Removing Social Security Numbers from Medicare Cards: Joint Hearing before the Subcommittee on Social Security and Subcommittee on Health of the Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, One Hundred Twelfth Congress, Second Session, August 1, 2012
Look up public information about Social Security Numbers derived from the SSN enumeration pattern prior to 2011
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value: ᏩᏥᏂ ᏗᏟᏁᎸ ᏗᏎᏍᏗ – Cherokee

value: 社會安全號碼 – Chinese

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