Underground Railroad 19th Century

Slavery was a despicable period of time in history, but the Underground Railroad was a major breakthrough in helping to free African American slaves during the 19th century. Despite its misleading name, the Underground Railroad was not underground nor a railroad. It was a system of hidden paths and safe houses that allowed slaves to escape to the free states in the North. The trails even led slaves as far as Canada (Trotter). It got its name because its actions all took place when it was dark and railway terms were used to communicate about the operation (History.com Staff). For example, the different routes were referred to as “lines” and stopping points were called “stations” (History.com Staff). In addition to it the railroad being an escape …show more content…
One component of the compromise made adjustments to the existing Fugitive Slave Act. The original law stated that authorities in the free states were required to return slaves to their owners (The Fugitive Slave Act). The Northern states were able to find a way around this rule, so in reply to its weakening the new law imposed a fine of $1,000 to any official that did not arrest runaway slaves (The Fugitive Slave Act). Anyone caught aiding slaves were also subject to a $1,000 fine, as well as six months in prison (The Fugitive Slave Act). It was more difficult to find a loophole in the changes, but this meant it was succeeding in its purpose. This caused slaves to continue on into Canada since the rules would have no affect on them there (Landon). Between 15 and 20 thousand slaves entered Canada from 1850 to 1860 (Landon). The end result of the Fugitive slave Act was increased violence in the North and abolitionists having to choose whether to defy the law or defy their beliefs (The Fugitive Slave Law). Tension increased between the North and South because of the law, and life for slaves was once again made more difficult, even after obtaining …show more content…
The American Anti-Slavery Society formed in 1833 and published a newspaper known as The Liberator (Driessen). The main goal of the paper was to show slave owners the immoral implications that came from slavery (Driessen). Frederick Douglass traveled across America to speak about the same subjects the paper wrote about (Driessen). Douglass also wrote a best selling autobiography called the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (Frederick Douglass). People were surprised by how well written the book was considering he had no formal education in his lifetime (Frederick Douglass). This shows that his passion about freeing slaves was all he needed to leave an impact. Another influential book written was Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The novel is a personal portrayal of how slavery impacted families and children and rapidly became a best seller (Harriet Beecher Stowe). She used real historical figures of the Underground Railroad as inspiration, including Thomas Garrett who inspired the character Simeon Halliday (Parker). In addition to new works of writing, new songs were produced during this time. The songs were spiritual and used to communicate secret messages during excursions (Robinson). The messages within the songs were coded in such a way that no slave owners could understand (Robinson). They were also a helpful way of communicating since none of