Social Effects Of The Underground Railroad

The underground railroad has been known throughout American history for the numerous lives saved, but how effective was it really to diverting slaves to the north? To measure its true effectiveness several factors must be considered; a few of these factors would be the number of slaves lives freed and the social and political impact it had on slavery. The underground railroad was a metaphor for the support system and routes used by escaping slaves, there were no railroads dedicated to this endeavor much less tracks that were underground. However, there were “conductors” (people who led slaves to freedom), “stationmasters” (people providing food, clothing and lodging in either private homes or churches), “depots” and “stations” (safe houses …show more content…
The slave owners obviously felt threatened by the undeniable presence of the underground railroad; their perspective was that aiding a slave’s attempt to escape was an organized method to stealing private property because slaves were legally owned. Anyone supporting this activity was a criminal. Slave owners lobbied for harsh laws to deter the “stealing of slaves”. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 allowed for slaves in the North to be recaptured and returned to their owner; anyone caught aiding and abiding escaping slaves were subject to legal action as well. As a result, there was limited help since the risk for anyone aiding escaping slaves included hefty fines, public whipping, hanging, and/or prison. This demonstrates that the underground railroad had a wide enough impact that legal action was taken to curb its …show more content…
Solomon Northup was born in July of 1808 in Minerva, New York. He grew up as a free man, working as a farmer and violinist with his family by his side. One day in 1841 Northup was lured south and kidnapped, he was enslaved for over a decade and endured horribly violent conditions. He was eventually sold to another slave owner in 1843 to Edwin Epps in Bayou Beouf. Months had passed when an anti-slavery Canadian carpenter named, Samuel Bass visited the Beouf plantation. He befriended Northup, reached out to musicians back in Saratoga Springs and found verification that he had been a free member of the community. Lawyer Henry B. Northup traveled south and facilitated Solomon’s release in 1853. Solomon then went to write the book called 12 Years a Slave, the book gave an insight to his experiences he faced during his time as a slave. This helped to raise awareness and more support for freeing the slaves. The underground railroad brought a sense of hope and urgency to end slavery, thus making it more affective to discourage support for