The Underground Deception: The Promised Land

by Harold D. Walker

In the land of Presidents Lincoln and now Obama, there exists a deep, dark secret that has been hidden in the annals of time and history with the hope of being forever forgotten. Illinois was a free state of the Union, which outlawed slavery; however, there existed a grandfather clause in the law. In Southern Illinois stands a House that harbors a secret of torture and death, owned by one man who was permitted to ignore the law. The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by Black slaves to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of people who were sympathetic to their cause. The Underground Deception is a story about the Reverse Underground Railroad that existed in Illinois, which supported the kidnapping of free blacks, and the capturing of escaped slaves to be transported and sold back into slavery. It is the story of the man who profited the most from this practice, building an empire with slave labor, that may have even been instrumental in electing a president. This plantation hid the dark secrets of slaves who lived there and the tortures they endured. It is also the slave's story of hopes and dreams, and how they survived and their never-ending quest for freedom. Although some of the characters and story itself are fictitious, the Hickory Hill Mansion and the actual events that took place there inspire it. Once you start reading The Underground Deception you can't stop and after you finish, you will never forget it.

257 pages, Paperback

First published April 16, 2010