Underground Rail Road
Uploaded by ilbrooksil on Jul 02, 1999
The underground railroad was a network of northerners that helped slaves reached the north and Canada for safety from their plantation. It was secret and railway terms were used to describe system as a way to hide the real nature of the operation. The underground railroad extended from Maine to Nebraska but was most concentrated in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indian, New York, and The New England States. More of the more specific spots were Detroit, Michigan, Erie, Pennsylvania, Buffalo and New York.
The slaves and the people who housed the slaves spoke in a disguised language that was used words like "freight, lines, stations and conductors". Freight meant freed slaves, lines were routes, stopping places were stations and the people who helped the slaves along the way were the conductors. So that is basically how it got its name because it was related to a train and the purpose of the system was to get you from one place to another. The "Liberty Line" was another for the system.
Help was given to the slaves from one transfer place to another ensuring the slaves journey to be safely executed. Once a slave reached their final destination, Canada or New England they would still have to keep quiet about how they reached the north without being discovered. The people that were most into helping slaves escape by means of the railroad were northern abolitionists and other anti-slavery groups who disliked what was going on in the south.
These included several Protestant especially Quakers, Methodists, and Mennonites. There was a Quaker of Thomas Garrett who was known for helping about 2,700 slaves escape to freedom. Former slaves were also active rolls in the Underground Railroad. One of these was an important well known black slave named Harriet Tumbman. Harriet was a runaway slave who helped many blacks escape and she became known as the "Mosses of her people" She served in the civil war she served as a nurse, cook, scout, and spy.
Most runaway slaves were young, male, unattached and highly skilled. When the slaves travelled they travelled at night to avoid being seen by slave masters, people getting paid to find slaves, and most southerners who would report them for being spotted. When a slave travelled at night he/she would follow the North star as a guide in the right direction.
In 1973 there was a law that was passed that said a run-away...