Underground Railroad Thesis

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 was a huge success lasting for decades and freed around one hundred thousand slaves by 1850 (History.com). The events of the railroad happened all over the country, each trip different and all routes kept secret, but slaves from the South would escape in small groups of three to five in an attempt to pass the Ohio River to Northern Free states. Slaves mainly traveled by foot in small groups, occasionally a slave would travel by boat or train, but wagon or foot was easiest as the night provided cover and there were set up safe houses (Wikipedia). The underlying causes of the Underground Railroad was as a means of escape from the harsh lives most slaves lived. The events that caused the construction of the Underground Railroad are unknown but is believed to be started by Quakers in the late 1700s (History.com). The Underground Railroad was a huge success bringing thousands of slaves into freedom a year, giving them hope for a better

The Underground Railroad was the path that slaves took while escaping. It consisted of stations or "depots" (houses), " conductors" (those who lived in the homes), "tracks" ( the actual trail they took) and even " station masters" and "presidents" who led the efforts in their area. The railroad analogy was used to describe many aspects of this anti-slavery activity. The code helped those involved in freeing the slaves communicate with each other without others understanding.

Throughout the 1800s in America, slavery was a controversy between the north and the south. A Slave was one who was the property of another human being under law and was forced to obey them. The North felt that slavery was unfair and inhumane, whereas in the South, they felt as though slavery was crucial to their success. African American slaves were not allowed many rights: they were not allowed to testify in court against a white person, could not receive an education, or even sign contracts. Due to the brutality they faced each day, many slaves escaped with hopes to find freedom. The Underground Railroad, a system utilized by many runaway slaves to help them escape from the South to Canada, played a large role in the downfall of slavery and eventual abolition in the United States following the Civil War.

Thousands of enslaved african americans lived in the south and was ⅓ of the south’s population, slavery violated the rights of human rights of thousands of african americans. If it wasn't for Abraham Lincoln and thousands of his supporters, The underground railroad saved the lives of thousands of african americans. The most famous legend is Harriet Tubman, she herself saved the lives of thousands and was

The fugitive slaves had to go through a long a perilous journey to reach their freedom while traveling along the Underground Railroad. In a very short time, the fugitive slaves had to travel great distances usually on foot, boats or trains were used very infrequently. They had to put their life on a stake while escaping as they had no or very diminutive amount of food and no protection from the slave catchers chasing them. The fugitive slaves were pursued by the slave owners as well as other men. The slave owners used to publish reward posters offering payment for the capture of their property to entice others to assist in the capture of their slaves. The fugitives would get severely punished if they were apprehended. Their punishment for running away was to be branded, flogged, jailed, killed and even sold back into slavery. The Underground Railroad was successful because the slave owners had no clue about the routes and even no one from the system knew the entire routes. Each conductor was responsible for leading the slaves from one station to the following and then the next conductor would lead them to the next station. This would continue until the whole route was traversed. The integrity of the routes as well as the fugitive slaves

The Underground Railroad was an intricate system of households and farmhouses alike that were all connected throughout many towns and villages in the mid 1800s. It was formed by the common goal of people taking a stand against the law and helping thousands of black slaves escape from the south to gain their rightful freedom in the north. This happened because many people began to see slaves as human beings with value, rather than brutes that were valued less than a human. Throughout the mid 1800s, there were many cases of runaway slaves attempting to escape to freedom without anywhere to hide or anyone to help. A lot of people realized that this was a very impactful movement so they began to open up their minds and homes to these fugitive slaves as an attempt to help them make it into the north. Many people helped these runaway slaves because they believed it was morally right, that black oppression was a crime; slaves held value and deserved to keep their family together and lead a life as any other man or woman would, and former slaves shed light on these critical issues.

The Underground Railroad was a series of routes that slaves would use to escape the ownership of their owners. It helped slaves escape and the people who would help the “underground railroad” function were white abolitionists who would hide the escapees in secret places, while supplying them with food and the things necessary to live. The Underground Railroad helped many slaves escape to the North.

“I have sent via a two o’clock four large and two small hams,” which indicated that four adults and two children were being sent by train from Harrisburg to Philadelphia.” (Wikipedia, Underground Railroad)

Abolitionists helped the slaves run away to safer places and/or run away completely. As evidence, the tales of the Underground Railroad demonstrate that, a small group of bondspeople managed to escape from slavery permanently and travelled in a northerly direction, often with the assistance of others. Among them include Frederick Douglass, Henry “Box” Brown, William Wells Brown, Harriet Jacobs, Tubman and Josiah Henson.

There were safe houses and the Underground Railroad kept the slaves hidden or prevent them from being captured thats why it was best for them to travel at night. Slaves, activist, and abolitionist would travel through route to escape to free states like Canada with the aid of abolitionist and allies who were sympathetic to the slaves cause.Also the slaves would at least try to move more up North and try and stay away from the South. Because of the underground Railroad Harriet Tubman was able to free over 70 people. Also the Underground Railroad wasn't even a railroad it got its name from the activities it carried out in secret using darkness or disguise and because railway terms were used by those involved with system to describe how it worked.The Network extended through 14 Northern States and ‘the promised land’ of Canada-beyond the reach of fugitive slave

The Underground Railroad is infamous due to motivations that aren‘t completely uplifting for the United States‘ image during. This was one of many hardcore blemishes for American History. Yes, slavery was actually everywhere, it wasn’t always looked at seriously. Example, a slave may have ran away and his owner may make a comment, “he must have gone off on an underground railroad.”(Abdur-Rahim) Although this comment seems harmless, it was said in order make a mockery of the Underground Railroad movement. This comment normally would be followed by possible whippings of any slaves associated with the runaway. The North’s

     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

“The Underground Railroad was the term used to describe a network of meeting places, secret routes, passageways, and safe houses used by slaves in the U.S. to escape slaveholding states to northern states and Canada.”(History.Net Editors, Paragraph #1). A trip on the Underground Railroad was full of danger. The slaves wanted to get away from their slave owners. Most of this usually happened at night. The big conflict was over the South and North disagreeing about whether slavery should be permitted. It was mainly the South who wanted slaves. This was so they could have people work for them without paying them. The South liked this because they could save their money to buy more slaves