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Underground Railroad Thesis

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If you were a slave during the mid-19th century, your only chance of freedom would be the Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad “was a hidden network of people and places established to help runaway slaves escape safely to the North and Canada. Free blacks—assisted by sympathetic white Northerners and operating largely in disguise and at night—provided directions, food, and shelter for those seeking freedom”(Underground Railroad). About 100,000 slaves escaped captivity through the system during the 1800s. The slaves used whatever they could to travel, “by foot, in small boats, by covered wagon, and even in boxes shipped by rail or sea”(Underground Railroad). The secret system even used special terminology as a code, to keep the organization secret. For example, “the elements of the system consisted of various routes(lines), hiding places(stations), and assistants(conductors) who helped to transfer escapees(packages or freight)along the way”(Underground Railroad). The Underground Railroad was a successful system because of the key individuals who risked their lives to help slaves, and the help from religious groups. To begin with, the Underground Railroad would’ve never been a successful system without the key people who created and supported it. Harriet Tubman was, and still is, the main figure of the organization. As a former slave, …show more content…

When “Large numbers of people banded together to defy laws that they had long found unjust”(Cosner 115), thousands of long lives and futures were saved. Without the amazingly courageous individuals that risked everything for the slaves, the organization would never be such a large and everlasting historic memory. The incredible story of the foundation and operation of the elaborate system, is one that will be known for generations to

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