Argumentative Essay On The Underground Railroad

America was not always a haven for diversity, freedom and equality; some may argue that it is still not that kind of country yet. However even in those times of racism and slavery there were a group of people who did not bend to the whip, but instead stood against it in secret. The Underground Railroad wasn’t necessarily an actual subway system, but a metaphor for the path that will lead to freedom. They could not do this out in the open obviously, so they resorted to using tricks and secret codes to lead slaves to freedom. Not only did this railroad help thousands of slaves to get that freedom, but it also widened the rift that was in between the north and south as evident by the dred scott case, and the fugitive slave act of 1850. Secrecy

This lead to the south growing more and more furious with the north because their slaves would be set free legally by merely entering the free state. So as a way to mend the relationship between the two sides, a bill was passed to do away with slaves getting their freedom. The fugitive slave bill of 1850 dealt a major blow to the Underground Railroad, making every escape attempt an ever greater challenge. This bill made it so that any escaped found in the north had to be sent back to their owner immediately without any trial. Slave owners and northern citizens were both allowed and “encouraged to form hunting parties to find and bring back any escaped slaves”(“Fugitive slave act of 1850”). However, despite this massive obstacle and danger many men and women still continued to free slaves, with some rescuing more than 300 by themselves. This not only inspired slaves but the general population causing many riots and protests in the streets whenever a runaway slave was discovered. The Fugitive Slave Bill was eventually ruled as unconstitutional in a state court after one such protest. The Supreme Court upheld the bill in a later court