During the mid-1880s was a secret networking system called the Underground Railroad that helped slaves into freedom. During the 1800’s slaves lived a dangerous, unhappy life. They often faced physical danger and cruelty. The Underground Railroad was an unofficial system that was not underground or a railroad but instead a secret way that helped slaves escape to slave free areas. Slave free areas included northern United States, Canada and other states at the time. Many slaves were aided by volunteers and free blacks that helped with food, directions, temporary housing, and clothing. Not only did they provide them with supplies and clothing but they also helped slaves moving from one safe house to another. The Underground Railroad was a system that helped many slaves not only to their families but most importantly freedom. Slaves would seek freedom for many reasons like physical torture, inhumane conditions, separation of families, sexual abuse by owners, etc. Slaves wanted freedom to properly develop their lives and own and make a profit for themselves. They wanted education, they wanted to stay with their families, and they wanted voting rights, things that many Southern states denied because of their race. These are the reasons why the Underground Railroad was very crucial and important even if it meant risking their lives as well as the lives of their loved ones. The Underground Railroad was considered one of the movements of freedom in America. The term Underground
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 path to safety and freedom for thousands of slaves before the Civil War. Escaping from the chains, confinement and abuse of slavery was no easy task and it took the cooperation of many people
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.
The Underground Railroad was a passage to freedom for the slaves which made the slave-owners exasperate. The slaves had to risk their lives while travelling to the northern states but it was worth it as the result of such hard work was freedom. The underground railroad, a secret network running from the Deep South through the free states and to the Canadian border that helped slaves escape from the slave-holding states before the Civil War, allowed abolitionists and their allies to help runaway slaves, made "conductors" like Harriet Tubman famous, and reached its height after the passage of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act.
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 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.
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.
Escape was a critical threat to the stability of slavery. Many slaves that would run away would escape the plantation for a few days and then come back, just to make their owners angry. The other runaway slaves that actually seeked permanent freedom faced many obstacles on the way to their prize. Slaves usually did not have basic knowledge of geography that went beyond their plantation, the only thing they knew was that the North meant happiness and freedom. Each year, about 1,000 slaves reached the North or Canada. Most slaves escaped from the Upper South states, there it was easier to reach the Northern states. In the South, runaway slaves usually went to places where they could easily fade in with the free black community. The Underground Railroad, a small system of sympathetic white and black abolitionists, helped slaves get away from their masters clutch.
"Oppressed slaves should flee and take Liberty Line to freedom." The Underground Railroad began in the 1780s while Harriet Tubman was born six decades later in antebellum America. The Underground Railroad was successful in its quest to free slaves; it even made the South pass two acts in a vain attempt to stop its tracks. Then, Harriet Tubman, an African-American with an incredulous conviction to lead her people to the light, joins the Underground Railroad’s cause becoming one of the leading conductors in the railroad. The Underground Railroad and Harriet Tubman aided in bringing down slavery and together, they put the wood in the fires leading up to the Civil War. The greatest causes of the Civil War were the Underground Railroad
That is how slaves felt everyday and that is why they wanted to be free. Most slaves wanted to escape. The underground railroad gave them new opportunities, a chance to get to know white people, and injuries or death. This would all not be possible without the underground railroad which impacted many slave lives.
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 was an important way that many people – enslaved and free – helped fight an unjust system. “Abolitionism in Rochester" explains how the system worked, but “A Midnight Arrival" shows how people who risked their lives might have felt.
According to “Underground Railroad” published by History.com, “The Underground Railroad was a term that was used to describe a network of people, places, and things who were there to help enslaved runaways escape to freedom in the northern parts of North America and into Canada.” Most of The Underground Railroad was taken place above ground, in public places, around towns, and large cities. The Underground Railroad was very informal and was active twenty-four hours a day.
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.