Fugitive Slave Essay

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knows exactly when the Underground Railroad was started there were some accounts of citizens helping slaves to freedom all the way back to the early 1700’s (1). By the 19th century, after the Fugitive Slave act was passed, more organized ways to freedom started to take place. The Underground Railroad wasn’t a railroad or underground, though it was a sort of loose network of assistance for slaves to help them achieve freedom, and it’s estimated that some one hundred thousand men, women, and children all escaped by the way of the Underground Railroad.

Though ‘The Underground Railroad’ was a big method of escape for slaves, there were other ways that slaves sometimes had to go with as well (1). Often times runaways escaped in small little groups, but also sometimes alone, which was much more dangerous and risky. "Conductors" risked their own life and well being to deliver refugees to safe havens in the North. Many fugitive slaves traveled at night, using the darkness to remain out of sight and avoid being captured easily.

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Some well known conductors of the railroad include James Fairfield and Harriet Tubman, who both risked their safety many of times to help deliver thousands and thousands of hopeful slaves to freedom.

Slavery was a horrible low in our country, but along with that came many great people who came forward to help end this massive mistake in America and try to restore the country’s greatness. “I freed a thousand slaves, I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves” - Harriet Tubman.