The Underground Railroads for African-american Slaves

The Underground Railroads began in the late 1700s-1865, the underground railroads wasn’t railroad it was a network of secret routes and safe houses.It was established in the United States during the early to mid 19th century.It was used by African-American slaves to escape to the free states and Canada. People who provided safe way to help escape slaves.The safe houses were stations where slaves seeking freedom could rest and eat before moving on to the next station of their destinations.The Underground Railroads passed through 14 Northern States and into Canada which slaves didn’t exist, Mexico, and Caribbean Sea.In the moment of this existence more than 100,000 slaves were freed.

Slavery was a unfair and brutal way of life, Blacks were mistreated, overworked, underpaid (if paid at all),physically and brutally beaten and sometimes even killed,their lives were at the mercy of their owners.The people that most involved in the Underground Railroad’s system, were members of free blacks community as well as abolitionists, church leaders ,and philanthropists.The abolitionists, both black and white, free and enslaves, with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic of their cause.One of the most famous members of the Underground Railroad’s was Harriet Tubman who is also escape slave, she would help free more than 300 slaves.

The Quakers in the north, who believed that slavery was wrong who also help escape slave.If they was to get caught helping escaped slaves they were at risk of being hung.They were slaveholders and law officials who hunted for slaves and those who helped them escape, ultimately planned to return the slaves to their ‘owners’.The fugitives sometimes traveled in boat or trains, they usually on foot or by wagon in groups of one or three slaves.Some groups were large abolitionist Charles Turner Torrey and his colleagues rented horses and wagons.They often transported as many as 15 or 20 slaves at the time.The journey was often difficult and dangerous for women and children.The children were sometimes hard to keep quiet or either they couldn’t keep up with the group.

Enslaves women were rarely allow to leave plantation,making harder to escape in the same way men could.Sometimes the slaves fugitive were given other clothes to wear so their ‘slave’ clothes wouldn’t draw attention.It was important especially if they were traveling by way of boat instead of in the dark night.Along the Ohio river a reverse underground began.The free black were being kidnapped and kept in hideouts until they could be shipped back to down south and be sold to slaveholders. In 1865 slavery was abolished with the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution.