The Underground Railroad assisted thousands of slaves on their journey to freedom in the Northern United States. This network of abolitionists worked to aid runaway slaves despite the many dangers and threats they crossed with every African-American they helped. There are many complicated and interesting points regarding the Underground Railroad including its creation and purpose, the peril that slaves and abolitionists experienced daily, and famous leaders that made the entire system possible. The Underground Railroad is fascinating in the way that it was created, its purpose, and how it serves that purpose. The construction of this route is complex and the details regarding it are many. The Underground Railroad is a system that existed prior …show more content…
There was an innumerable amount of people who were willing to put themselves at risk to offer a helping hand to slaves in search of freedom, but Harriet Tubman is one of the most well-known leaders of the Underground Railroad. Harriet Tubman was born into slavery in 1820 in Maryland and escaped in 1849. After her successful journey to freedom, she returned south many times to help family members and hundreds of other slaves gain the ability to live a free life (Harriet Tubman Biography.com). She also worked as a spy during the Civil war for the Union Army. After the war was over, she helped impoverished former slaves by establishing her own Home for the Aged (Harriet Tubman). This female abolitionist and former slave made her income by selling copies of her biographies and giving many speeches all over the U.S. (Harriet Tubman Biography,com). Harriet Tubman died on March 10, 1913 of pneumonia. She was buried with military honors in the Auburn’s Fort Hill Cemetery (Harriet …show more content…
William Still was a free born African-American who was referred to as “The Father of the Underground Railroad” because he assisted many on their path to North (Bos 8). Levi Coffin was another famous abolitionist who wrote about his efforts in freeing numerous slaves (Greenspan). William Jackson and his family volunteered their home as a station in Newton, MA, which was later, turned into a museum (Bos 8). Another leader of the Underground Railroad was named John Fairfield. John was the son of a slave-holding family and daringly rescued many of his family’s slaves and created ways to keep them safe while escaping