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Slavery - Underground Rail Road

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Slavery - Underground Rail Road

The underground railroad was a network of northerners that helped slaves reached the north and Canada for safety from their plantation. It was secret and railway terms were used to describe system as a way to hide the real nature of the operation. The underground railroad extended from Maine to Nebraska but was most concentrated in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indian, New York, and The New England States. More of the more specific spots were Detroit, Michigan, Erie, Pennsylvania, Buffalo and New York.

The slaves and the people who housed the slaves spoke in a disguised language that was used words like "freight, lines, stations and conductors". Freight meant freed slaves, lines were routes, stopping places were stations and the people who helped the slaves along the way were the conductors. So that is basically how it got its name because it was related to a train and the purpose of the system was to get you from one place to another. The "Liberty Line" was another for the system.

Help was given to the slaves from one transfer place to another ensuring the slaves journey to be safely executed. Once a slave reached their final destination, Canada or New England they would still have to keep quiet about how they reached the north without being discovered. The people that were most into helping slaves escape by means of the railroad were northern abolitionists and other anti-slavery groups who disliked what was going on in the south.

These included s...

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Submitted by: 123student
Date Submitted: 01-18-2009
Category: History
Words: 643
Pages: 2.57