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Underground Railroad Research Paper

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The Railroad that Started the War
On the brink of the Civil War, there were roughly 4,000,000 slaves in the United States (Ruggles). These slaves had little to no chance of succeeding, until the Underground Railroad changed over 100,0000 slave’s lives (Blight). The Underground Railroad was a united system made up of mainly Quackers and former slaves across the country that provided slaves away to escape. This system provided a good chance of succeeding (Maryland Public Television). The Underground Railroad was a huge benefit for slaves, but caused many arguments and even fights between the white men. Some historians think these controversies aided the start of the Civil War. The Underground Railroad gave an abused race new hopes and dreams, …show more content…

They worked day to night in the fields or at the master’s house. Most picked crops in the horrendous heat, and some women took care of the master's house and children. The slaves slept in huts with up to twenty people sometimes. The life of a slave was terrible, but the life of a slave that was caught escaping was two times worse. The punishment of getting caught included a beating, being “sold South”, being traded away from their family, and death (Maryland Television). Besides death, being “sold South” was the worst punishment for a slave. Many slaves who were caught were sent South on a ship down the Mississippi River. They would make a difficult trip on a small overcrowded ship. When they arrived slaves were put to work in New Orleans. They had to pick sugarcane in extreme heat, that killed large numbers of slaves (Lauren, Creason, and Matthews). The slaves lived a hard life at the least, and they risked their lives when they tried to escape. Some escaped, but many did not. Through all their struggles, they never quit, because that one hope of freedom. Frederick Douglas, a famous free slave told the world about his experience in slavery. In this quote he tells the basic mindset of a slave and why they tried to escape “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.”

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Hua 1 Edison Hua Ms. Rehling GATE English 8 13 October 2015 Contributors to the Underground Railroad In 1810 to 1850, slavery was major profit in the South. People from Africa were kidnapped and taken to work as slaves in the colonies. Life as a slave was harsh, cold, cruel, and life threatening. As a result, many people opposed slavery by creating the Underground Railroad.

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“Without a struggle, there can be no progress” (Fredrick Douglass). In the book The Narrative of The Life of Fredrick Douglass by Fredrick Douglass, Douglass, who was born into slavery, had to go through many different masters and obstacles before he became a free man. Douglass succeeded at escaping and freeing himself, while other slaves did not succeed for many reasons. First of all, one of the reasons why Fredrick Douglass succeeded in escaping was because he could read. Sophia Auld was teaching Fredrick Douglass how to read until her husband, Hugh, forbade her to continue.

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Even though the railroad existed before the great division between the north and the south and it mainly contributed in providing goods for both sides, the invention of the railroad greatly contributed to the civil war. The first railroad created in the US was in 1827 and their major role was to transport goods from the North to the South and back. As slaves became more abundant in the South and less present in the North a war began on the idea of slavery. The railroad caused this Civil War by bringing goods to only one side and keeping their advantage. It went from having different point of views to all out battles that started with starvation and isolation, but led to death and separation.

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The cotton gin affected slavery in the United States by increasing a demand in slaves to keep up with amount of cotton that the gin could pick. The Underground railroad was a secret underground passageway used by the slaves to use has an escape to the North. Harriet Tubman was a conductor, she guided the slaves on a dangerous voyage, so they could be free. A conductor is a person who guides other people. Lines was the code name for an escape route on the Underground Railroad.

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During the time of the civil war , the idea of creating a faster form of transportation arose. The amount of time, manufacturing, and hard work that went into the making of the railroad was extraordinary. The railroad invention did, however, have a big effect on the world today. The Transcontinental Railroad was an important invention and impacted the civil war.

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The Underground Railroad was a path that slaves took when they escaped their plantations. The Underground Railroad was formed in the late 1700s. They would use this secret route that took them north so they would not get caught by slave catchers. If they were caught by slave catchers, they would return them to their masters in the south.

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The Underground Railroad Have you ever wondered what kinds of codes were used in the Underground Railroad? Or the way experiences affected the slaves? Or what Harriet Tubman did? Well in this paper each of these questions will be answered.

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During the Underground Railroad’s time it freed more than 6,000 people. The system ran from about 1780 till the beginning of the Civil War in 1862. The system’s goal was to helps slave escape to Canada to gain their freedom. Many things and people played a role in the system to even get it started. Major people were involved, starting with the Quakers.

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The War Between the States was one of America’s greatest wars—it was the fight for freedom, but it also impacted the economy. Because of this, America’s labor and transportation systems both took a significant turn during the Civil War, impacting America’s economy forever. In the end, the American Civil War greatly benefitted our transportation system, but devastated the South’s labor force. For a war to be fought strategically well, there first must be a form of simple, yet speedy, transportation. That is where the transcontinental railroad came in.

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The Underground Railroad was a means for escape for thousands of slaves between 1830 and 1860, requiring both the courage and dedication of fugitives to leave their homes in an effort to come in

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The railroad caused a chain reaction that led to the freedom of all slaves after the Civil War. After the war, black people finally had the freedom that they deserved and the historical injustice that they went through was finally at rest. Millions of African-Americans were enslaved and roughly 300,000 were saved by the Underground Railroad and the rest got freedom after the Civil War. The Underground Railroad caused people to have a better life, therefore, it will forever be marked as the greatest invention of

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Cooperation and coordination were also critical for the Underground Railroad. Everyone involved had to do what they were told, whether they had an explanation or not. Everything had to work like clockwork, even if something might not be going quite as planned. They all had to be flexible, in order to adapt to problems that were certain to come up. All involved with the Underground Railroad also had to have a special heart to be willing to aid slaves in escaping to freedom.

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Living conditions for slaves were dreadful, with long work hours and low wages. Slave masters separated families and sold off children from their parents, or vice versa. Slaves were prone to severe punishment for even trivial offenses. Whippings and beatings were prevalent. Running away allowed them to get away from all the hostility, if only for a while.

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