The Influence Of The Underground Railroad

Words: 1448
Pages: 6

At some point most, if not all slaves thought about escaping slavery. Some might not have tried because they were petrified of what would happen if they were not able to make it. Some might of tried and were not able to make it to a free state. Slaves were considered property, everything they did was up to their owner. Most slaves did not know how to read or write, so they were dependent on the owner for those things. The Underground Railroad saved many former slaves from eventually being killed from lack of nutrition or from working to hard. But no matter what difficulties lay ahead, there was only one goal, to be free. The Underground Railroad was the road to freedom, for some it saved their lives. The success of the Underground Railroad is astonishing, it was a very important system to have when slavery was legal, and very important to how things are today. The Underground Railroad influenced the society of …show more content…
The Underground Railroad was not just hope, it let them believe that there was freedom, but the Underground Railroad was not actually a railroad. Essentially it was just a vast network of people helping slaves become free (Judgement Day). It was used to transport slaves across fourteen northern states and also into the “Promise Lands” known as Canada. Recorders state that it started in 1780 and ended in 1862 at the beginning of the Civil War (History). Most slaves wanted to go to Canada so they were less likely to be captured and then sent back to their slave owners. The reason for the name “Underground Railroad” was because it all had to be in secret (Underground Railroad). Stopping places were called “stations” and the people who took them to their destinations were called “conductors” (Underground Railroad). They were only allowed to go out at night to travel, that was so that no one would see them as easily. They would typically travel