Informative Essay: The Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad was one of the most remarkable protests against slavery in United States history. It was a fight for personal survival, which many slaves lost in trying to attain their freedom. Slaves fought for their own existence in trying to keep with the traditions of their homeland, their homes in which they were so brutally taken away from. In all of this turmoil however they managed to preserve the customs and traditions of their native land. These slaves fought for their existence and for their cultural heritage with the help of many people and places along the path we now call the Underground Railroad.

The underground railroad wasn't underground or a railroad, it was a secret way of freeing slaves, people would walk from safe house to safe house or to different hiding places on their way to being free black people. A conductor may have been a white person who was helping the slaves, and the stations were the stops they would make along the way. The freight was another name for the slaves. The lines were a code name

The Underground Railroad was a secret system of individuals who assisted fugitive slaves in their quest for freedom prior to the Civil War. The term, used between 1830-1860, refers to the swift, “invisible” way in which the slaves escaped. Usually they hid during the day and moved at night. Coffin says: “fugitive slaves relied heavily on fellow slaves and free blacks, who rarely betray them.” (Coffin, 2006). The most famous black leader in the movement was Harriet Tubman, a nonliterate runaway slave who became the “Moses” of her people.

In my opinion, the Underground Railroad was something that is taken way to lightly as if it was not as important as it was. I didn’t know HALF of this information I learned from my research. People mailed themselves to escape the torture of slavery! Some even committed suicide. Death was a better option then slavery. The Underground Railroad helped people take control of their rights, and their lives. This background information was not taught in school. Slavery tore families apart, it took people away from their homes, and it deprived people from their rights and freedom.

The Underground Railroad was neither a railroad nor underground. It was a system of secret routes and people who helped African American Slaves escape to the North and to Canada during the 19th century. Why was it called that? The reason it was named “The Underground Railroad” was because it was figuratively underground as the network was illegal so they needed to stay “underground” to keep from being caught. The word “railroad” was used because the railroad was a rising mean for transportation and its users used railroad code to talk to each other in secret.

The Underground Railroad was the name used to describe a network of secret routes and safe houses used to help African American slaves escape into free states and Canada. Many slaves risked their lives to be free. Slavery began during the American Revolution and near the end of the Civil War when millions of African Americans were captured from Africa and were forced onto slave ships that sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to North America to be sold into slavery. Before the underground railroad, if slaves did try to escape, they’d soon return tired, hungry, and unable to survive on the run as a fugitive. The underground railroad was their only hope of becoming a free person. It was given the name “underground railroad” because everything

During the 19th century, America became polarized over the issue of slavery. The South identified as pro-slavery, while the North was opposed to it. The Underground Railroad was established in the early 1800’s after the end of the American Revolution. Aided by people involved in the Abolitionist Movement, the Underground Railroad helped many slaves escape bondage. This was not an actual railroad nor underground, rather a term used to describe a vast network of secret routes, safe places, and people sympathetic to the cause. The Underground Railroad ran until the 1860’s reaching its peak right before the Civil War began (Malaspina).

The Underground Railroad is viewed as simply a series of trails that led slave to freedom. It was more than that. What were the motivations behind the creation of it? Were there political involvements? Was it developed with financial gain in mind? The Underground Railroad is another one of those subjects that gets swept under the proverbial carpet. Slavery happened everywhere, whether people want to admit it or not. The Underground Railroad was a positive and a negative thing. Most people don’t comprehend what it fully entailed or the impact that it had on all people. It is important to review the past, so we can make an attempt to not make the same mistakes. The above questions will be answered in a well rounded account of all parties involved from the abolitionists to the slaves and those who were supporters.

The idea of Underground Railroad emerged in 1834 when the National Antislavery Society in the United States, an organization that was made up of both blacks and white abolitionists used the railroad to enable about 100,000 slaves to find a path to freedom (Smedley 23). The Underground Railroad became a formal organization in 1838 under the leadership of Robert Purvis, a black abolitionist. Under the guidance of several railroad agents, thousands of slaves made impulsive escapes from the Confederate South (Gara 96). Other slaves managed to utilise well-organised systems to achieve this escapes. Before providing a detailed analysis of the Underground Railroad and its role in the antislavery movement, it is important to note that the idea of ?Underground Railroad? has nothing to do with a real railroad. It is a movement that utilised a variety of means to enable the enslaved Africans to escape from the south (Delle 64). Therefore, the main role of the Underground Railroad was to actively support the ongoing demand for abolishing slavery, the onset of the American civil war, and its historical role of being the pioneer anti-slavery movement in the United States.

“The Underground Railroad was neither underground nor a railroad” (Foner). The reason why The Underground Railroad got its name was because the activities that were taking place on it had to be done quietly and secretively. Stopping places alone the Underground Railroad were known as stations. The people who were so kind to help along the railroad were known as conductors. Harriet Tubman was one of the most famous conductors to have used the Underground Railroad. Tubman took 19 trips using the Underground Railroad to help free more than three hundred slaves.

     The Underground Railroad, the pathway to freedom which led a numerous amount of African Americans to escape beginning as early as the 1700‘s, it still remains a mystery to many as to exactly when it started and why. (Carrasco). The Underground Railroad is known by many as one of the earliest parts of the antislavery movement. Although the system was neither underground nor a railroad, it was a huge success that will never be forgotten.

The Underground Railroad was what many slaves used to escape slavery. It was not an actual railroad, although it could easily be compared to one. It was a route, with safe houses and many other hiding spots for the slaves to use. The paths had conductors telling you where to go and people who would drive you to the next safe house. You had to be quick, you had to be strong, and you had to be very courageous. The Underground Railroad led all the way to Canada. There were many people helping the slaves, and even more people that were opposing them. It was no easy task. Many slaves died of sickness or natural causes, gave up and returned back to the plantation, or were caught and either killed or brought back. It was a rough journey but a

This honesty still isn’t sure today . The name “ underground railroad” were invisible . This wa at secret .However slaves were breaking out many years before the name was brought up . They believed the name was given in the 1830s . Although at the same time being railroads were beginning to carry passengers across the united states . These routes they took were secret , and were secret , and were underground and out of slight .

The Underground Railroad was not a railroad or underground. The Underground Railroad was a path for slaves to escape. More than 100,000 slaves escaped through the Underground Railroad. (History.com, history.com staff, paragraphs one and two) The slaves can thank people like Harriet Tubman because she was one of the people that helped the slaves leave and be free. There were other people, like William Still, Levi Coffin, and John Fairfield. One of the paths that went through the Underground Railroad was in Cincinnati, Ohio. Different paths extended through fourteen states and including Canada. The Underground Railroad was formed during the 1700-1790s. The Underground Railroad ended in 1861 when the Civil War started. (history.net, in between paragraphs one and two)

The Underground Railroad has a misleading name. The Underground Railroad is neither underground nor a railroad. It is a network of tunnels leading North or Canada to get the slaves to Canada or the Free states. It had places where people meet up, secret paths, transportation, secret places to hide people and leaders. Slaves went in small groups so no one would find out. There was a Railroad language created that was used by station masters, conductors, and people helping slaves get to freedom and there were songs used by slaves as code.