Operation Underground Railroad Analysis

Nowadays, social media is practically a staple in everyone’s lives. While some use it solely to stay in touch with friends or family, others wouldn’t even know the latest of current events if they didn’t have their phone notifying them that their friends are talking about it. The Internet and social media have bred a new generation of socially-aware people which has given them a platform to learn and share on. Because this generation’s growth is largely-based online and through technology, it has formed a new brand of social activism. While some feel social media has made it too easy to claim a movement or position, others believe that it is what we need to spread a message

Today, people seem blinded by their outsized enthusiasm for social media. According to them, a few clicks can change the whole world and accomplish wonders such as curing cancer. Good intentions become sufficient on their own, as if there were no need for medicine and scientific researches anymore. Well, this is pure nonsense. Facebook’s likes cannot save African children from starvation, the same way Twitter’s 140 characters will not put an end to acts of terrorism. This notion is not even remotely debatable. For instance, the project Kony2012 had a perfect starting point; inspiring video, moving story and most importantly worldwide spread. Unfortunately, the terrorist is still at liberty, and the lack of thorough investigations is to blame. Instead of focusing on the real problems of war and kidnapping of children, the so-called activist related to the obvious and spent all of his money and energy on his movie. Ultimately, due to the predominance of weak-ties, the project was not successful. More importantly, certain tools of social networks, especially “likes” and “retweets”, encourage people to feel good about themselves, when actually they should incite them to put their efforts and means in the cause they supposedly defend. As Gladwell wrote, “[current] activism succeeds not by motivating people to make a real sacrifice but by motivating them to do the things that

The Underground Railroad is a figurative railroad involving hundreds of thousands of people such as slaves, free Blacks, and White abolitionists. The Underground Railroad began in the late 1700s to 1865, with the height of the railroad happening in 1850 to the 1860s, where a thousand or more slaves were able to escape per year. The name of the Underground Railroad comes from the use of railroad code and the railroad being a form of resistance to slavery at the time (Wikipedia). Following the Compromise of 1850 that strengthened the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, slave catchers were allowed to work in free states and claim free Blacks as slaves and put them back into slavery. The specifics of the railroad are unknown to keep out infiltrators, everything relied on word of mouth, and many who helped only knew their part of the trip (Wikipedia).

Throughout the 1800’s there were more and more Americans that had moved onto the frontier of the West coast. The people of the United States believed they were destined to have their land stretched from the Pacific Ocean (the west) to the Atlantic Ocean (the east); from sea to shining sea. This settlement came from the fact that the west not only had an abundance of fertile land for farming, but it had such a great abundance of gold and mineral mining available. The Americans also believed that this was a way (and chance) to spread their beliefs! Many people saw the West as a new beginning, so they decided to head West and begin this journey. This is what the Americans believed they were destined to do… The rapid settlement of the West was caused by the great desire of the American

Fifteen thousand men. One thousand- two hundred dead. Twenty thousand pounds of bones. One thousand, seven hundred and fifty- six miles of railways. The creation of the transcontinental railroad began in 1863. It originated in the northern states and made its way to the west. Nobody knew that one day this new technology would lead to the future that we live today. During the time that the railroad was in the process of being created, many things were escalating in the US, all for the best. The Transcontinental Railroad transformed the United States more economically by creating new opportunities, improving transportation, and boosting imports and exports.

Slaves in the south was about one- third od the southern population. Most of the slaves lived either on a small plantations or large farms. The slave owners make their slaves depend on them for everything like food, shealther, and others. Slaves where not allowed to learn how to read and write. The woman that where in slaver were tooking advantage off secual by their slave master. Slaves were allowed to get married and raise large familys eventhought the marriage had no legal basis. Nat Turner led one of the slave revolt, His group had about 75 blacks and they murdered about 60 white people in two days before they where stoped by the militia forces.

Known to many who lived in the 1800’s as merely a mystery, the Underground Railroad secretly had a major effect on all people during the time the covert operation existed. Although the Underground Railroad may not have been extremely effective in the number of slaves it led to freedom, it did have a major impact on the Civil War, the morale of people fighting for emancipation, and the thinking of all people during the 19th century. The Underground Railroad was a true agent of social change, despite many people’s beliefs that the Underground Railroad was simply a symbolic effort that had no major effect.

Tam Do Mrs. Meador English I Pre-IP – Period 2 9/10/2015   HISTORY Event: the Underground Railroad Date: 1800s Description: The Underground Railroad was a network of people working together to free slaves from the South during the 1800s. They would go into the South, get as many slaves as they can, and risk their life to get them to a safe house.

The Underground Railroad might sound deceiving, but it actually never went underground and it wasn’t a railroad. The Underground Railroad did get its name due to the fact that it had to be kept a secret and a lot of the terms that were used throughout the slave escape route in order to describe how it worked was railroad terms. Routes would be called lines, stopping places along the way such as safe houses would be called stations, those who would aid along the way would be called conductors and their charges were known as freight. The various routes extended all the way through 14 Northern States and through the “Promise Land” of Canada, which was far beyond the reach of slave hunters. Those who would assist people on the railroad were member

Lastly, the Underground Railroad consisted of skill, stillness, slyness, and a great deal of confidentiality. The people involved in the escapes used different terms to disguise their conversations. Instead of saying “homes” or “businesses” for where the escapees would eat and rest, the people would say either “stations” or “depots” (1). The fugitives were hidden in the upper room of people’s homes and were to travel at night (Coffin 1). They called the people in charge of the “stations” and “depots”, “stationmasters”. The ones who donated money and supplies were called “stockholders” and the “conductors” were the people who helped move fugitives from each station on to the next (1). Making up different vocabulary helped the ones that were moving the slaves talk more openly about what they were doing without getting caught and it was a much smaller risk.

Many people are trying to make everyone be aware of human trafficking and what they can do to prevent it.

Another strategy to stop human trafficking is to increase awareness to the public especially to women who are more susceptible to fall prey to human traffickers. It is incredibly important to promote awareness to potential victims before they unknowingly get involved. There are many ways to spread awareness especially in this world of technology. Awareness can be spread through videos on YouTube, community groups on Facebook, status updates on Twitter and e-mails. Traditional ways include hanging up posters and banners, advertising through televisions and radios, campaigns, and so on. To further capture the attention of the civic, A-list celebrities can also get involved in increasing awareness on human trafficking. It is absolutely necessary to educate ourselves on this global problem in order to fight against it. Experts on human trafficking can release tips and guidelines to the public to prevent them from being fooled by the traffickers. With the right amount of knowledge and awareness, it is possible to combat human trafficking.

The almost omnipresent Internet transforms our lives, connecting us to family, friends, and the world in ways inconceivable only a few years ago. Through social media, we actively participate in creating, editing, and consuming a never-ending stream of data. Private corporations and protagonists of political or social change all vie to reach and engage highly targeted

No matter how much potential social media has for political or societal change it is important to criticize its negative aspects. An article written by Andrea Moncada, begins her argument with the question has social media had the same impact on advocacy. Similar to Gladwell’s points of view, Moncada states, “social media can help get the word around, but participants must be united by a core message and traditional methods…” This source of uncertainty is the basis for its support and is understandable.

As technology develops rapidly in the modern society, the broad social influence it brings is also widely discussed, especially about its effects on social change. In the past, social movements were raised without the help of technology, specifically without social media, whereas social media has recently played a non-ignorable role. The connection between social media and social activisms concerned, here come some different voices. Few people maintain that social media now has no practical influence on social change, while others hold the opposite view, thinking social media is already a crucial factor in it. Personally speaking, I agree with the second kind of view: it is true that social media is not able to create social movements by itself in today’s world, but it plays an important and essential part in making real social change.