Underground+Railroad

=  The Underground Railroad = toc

The Underground Railroad was not a railroad, and it was not underground. It was a secret network of stations, safe houses that provided food, clothes and shelter for scared and tired runaway slaves. All types of people helped with this (they were called "conductors"), many whites but mostly blacks. Still, it effectively moved hundreds of slaves northward each year. During the time of 1810 to 1850, the South lost 100,000 slaves. This is very important because it shows and tells us that no one is better than anybody else, we are all one.


Many slaves did not want to live in slavery. Many thought it better to die than to be a slave, that is why many slaves tried to escape slavery. This was very hard because slaves had no money, could not take supplies, and often did not have good shoes or clothing. They had to go by foot and move at night so no one would see them. They had to go through dark woods that they did not know without food for days. Sometimes, woman would have to give birth on the trail, which would slow them down. Also, if this happened, they had a great chance at getting caught because the woman would scream and the baby's would cry.



 The Name
No one really knows how the Underground Railroad is called what it is called. Some people think it is called "Underground" because things that are underground are invisible. Things that are underground are generally invisible. Because the operations of the Underground Railroad were secret, they were invisible to most people. Although slaves had been escaping for a while, the name was given to the network around the 1830's. In the 1830's, railroads were being invented, so the other part of the name could have come from that. Because the routes of the escapes were secret, it was as if the journey were underground and out of sight.

The Conductors
Men and women who operated Underground Railroad stations hid slaves in their homes, churches, shops, schools, and barns. Conductors drove slaves hidden in wagons to the next station. Some conductors led slaves through woods and fields on foot until they could reach a safe house. Some put slaves on boats that sailed north to freedom. Others put slaves on real trains heading north. People figured out very clever ways to smuggle people out of slavery states to a place further north.

Punishment if Caught
If a slave was caught trying to escape, the punishment could be severe. Often runaways would be sold "south". That meant, that they were sold to a place deep in the south that if they tried to escape, it would be hard. Other times, runaways would be beaten and forced to do very hard work. Sometimes they were sold to a different owner who lived nearby. Sometimes they were just taken back to their master and returned to working. Often, slaves who failed to escape the first time, tried until they succeeded or died.

The End of Slavery
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">T<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">he Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery in the south. This document declared the freedom of all slaves in any state of the Confederate States of America. Many people were angered at this (especially people in the south) but they learned to live with it. Many of the slaves did not know what to do with their lives, since they had always been a slave, and asked their masters if they could stay. Other thought it was a cruel joke that was being played on them and refused to go until they saw proof. When all the slaves were gone, life became normal again. African Americans were still not treated with respect, but it was better than slavery. It would be a long time till the black community saw real justice. Not until the 1960's during the Civil Rights movement.

<span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 128); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">
<span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 128); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Garraty, John A. __The Story Of America__. Austin, TX: Holt, Rineheart and Winston, 1994

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<span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 128); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">"Taking The Train To Freedom". Underground Railroad:Special Resource Study. Published February 12, 1998. Accessed on March 23, 2009. http://www.nps.gov/undergroundrr/

<span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 128); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">"Underground Railroad". Spartacus Educational. Accessed on March 1, 2009. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USASunderground.htm