Name ______Date ______
Mr. Doherty Social Studies-___
The Underground Railroad
In the 1800s, there were millions of slaves in the American South. These enslaved African Americans fought against slavery in many ways. Sometimes, they acted out with force – leading revolts, burning crops, and even poisoning their masters. They fought back in more subtle ways, too. Some simply worked slowly, quietly damaged property, or took goods from their owners.
Some slaves fought against slavery by trying to escape. When this happened, owners offered huge rewards for their return. Most runaway slaves were captured and returned to their owners, where they faced harsh punishment.
But thousands did make it to freedom. Thousands of slaves fled for the North, where many encountered help along the Underground Railroad. It was not a real railroad, but a secret network of people, places, and routes in the North that led slaves to freedom in large cities, black communities, and Canada.
Reaching the Underground Railroad was a terrifying and difficult journey. Some fugitives stowed away on boats, trains, or wagons. But most slaves traveled on foot, and usually at night. They had little to eat except what they found along the way. The worst danger runaway slaves faced were “bounty hunters” or slave catchers who made a living by tracking fugitives and returning them to their owners.
“Conductors” guided runaways to “stations” where they could spend the night. Some stations were homes of abolitionists- people who wanted to end slavery in the United States completely. One daring conductor, Harriet Tubman, had escaped slavery herself. Risking her freedom and her life, Tubman returned to the South 19 times! She led more than 300 slaves, including her parents, to freedom.
As many as 100,000 slaves escaped along the Underground Railroad during the 1800s. This was only a tiny percent of the millions who lived in slavery during that period. But the Underground Railroad still had an important impact on history. It helped open the eyes of those in the North who had turned from the issue of slavery. It also enraged Southerners who believed slavery was their right. In the end, the Underground Railroad fueled the conflicts between the North and South that led to the Civil War.