The Underground Railroad Escaping Slavery Essays - 818 Words

The Underground Railroad was what many slaves used to escape slavery. It was not an actual railroad, although it could easily be compared to one. It was a route, with safe houses and many other hiding spots for the slaves to use. The paths had conductors telling you where to go and people who would drive you to the next safe house. You had to be quick, you had to be strong, and you had to be very courageous. The Underground Railroad led all the way to Canada. There were many people helping the slaves, and even more people that were opposing them. It was no easy task. Many slaves died of sickness or natural causes, gave up and returned back to the plantation, or were caught and either killed or brought back. It was a rough journey but a†¦show more content†¦Her birthday was unknown, however, we know she was born in 1820 and died on March 10, 1913. One of her famous quotes was, â€Å"I freed a thousand slaves. I could have freed a thousand more if I only knew they were slaves .† Harriet Tubman was not the only person to help the slaves. Levi and Catharine Coffin were also very good underground railroad conductors. The Coffins were legendary in helping former slaves escape to freedom. They were Quakers originally from NC that moved to Newport where they were very successful in helping Slaves. In Newport, the Coffins became so successful that not one slave failed to escape when they were with the Coffins. The Coffins were true heroes. Another person who helped slaves escape was William Still. Still was a successful and confident merchant who was african american. He was Free born, meaning he had never been a slave working on a plantation. He was born on October 7, 1821, Burlington County, New Jersey. He was the youngest out of 18 children. One of William Still’s major accomplishments was teaching himself to read and write. There were a lot of laws that prohibited African-Americans from reading and writing. William Still is best known for his book he published in 1872 called â€Å"The Underground Railroad†, which was a book about former slaves who escaped bondage. William Still was an abolitionist who helped hundreds of enslaved African-Americans escape to freedom. These people were trueShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Gateway To Freedom By Eric Foner788 Words   |  4 PagesEric Foner portrays the vital role white radicals had in the pursuit to institutionalize slavery, but emphasized how African Americans had an active role as combatants in their struggles to end slavery and to establish true freedom of themselves. Foner stressed and focused on the operatives who ran New York City’s Underground Railroad because New York, still a zone of conflict over the abolishment of slavery, lagged compared to other Northern states during the 1850s. Unsurprisingly, a rash kidnappedRead MoreThe Underground Railroad And The Civil War1709 Words   |  7 PagesThe Underground Railroad was a passage to freedom for the slaves which made the slave-owners exasperate. The slaves had to risk their lives while travelling to the northern states but it was worth it as the result of such hard work was freedom. The underground railroad, a secret network running from the Deep South through the free states and to the Canadian border that helped slaves escape from the slave-holding states before the Civil War, allowed abolitionists and their allies to help runawayRead MoreUnderground Railroad Essay Outline1333 Words   |  6 PagesTHE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD 1 The Underground Railroad Raymond Allen Setlock West Catholic High School THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD 2 Our country’s history had its good times and also its bad times. 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However, despite discouragement from the whitesRead MoreThe Great Escape: Harriet Tubman Essay1027 Words   |  5 PagesJohn Parker -†(â€Å"Underground Railroad: A Pathway to Freedom† 1) . These were all well known individuals who escaped slavery using the Underground Railroad. Beginning in the late 1700’s, many lives were at risk all for the sake of their freedom. The Underground Railroad was not only a secret system that was used to help fugitive slaves gain their freedom, but it was an opportunity for a better life. Although the Railroad had its advantages, it also had many downfalls. The life of slavery had taken a largeRead MoreHoward Zinn s Development Of Slavery1574 Words   |  7 PagesFrom the 17th to the 19th century, Europeans enslaved African people and forced them to perform exhausting labor. In A People’s History of the United States, Howard Zinn described the development of slavery by stating the contributing factors. F or instance, settlers coming from Europe would station in Africa to force Africans to go to America and work on the colonists’ plantations. African slaves were brought to the North American colony of Jamestown, Virginia in 1619 to aid in the production ofRead MoreThe Underground Railroad And The American Civil War1203 Words   |  5 PagesIn 1619, the first Africans arrived in Jamestown, Virginia setting in motion one of the darkest eras in American history. Slavery would continue throughout the 17th and 18th centuries and eventually divide the nation in the bloody battles of the American Civil War (1861 – 1865). On January 1, 1863, four million slaves were freed when President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. However, the road to freedom for many slaves was long and brutal. Countless African American slavesRead MoreUnderground Railroad Essay726 Words   |  3 PagesThe Undergorund Railroad served as a gateway to heaven for slaves of the sout hern United States. It provided slaves a way to get north to the freeland, where they would not be forced into slavery. It was the best way for slaves to get away. The Underground Railroad was a network of people that helped fugitive slaves get to the freeland (northern U.S. and Canada). It was not ran/maintained by one person or organization, instead it was made up of lots of individuals. Some of these people were