Argumentative Essay On The Underground Railroad

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Even though escaping the South to go the North for freedom was illegal, surprisingly thousands of slaves ran away by using the Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad is not a train station but the name fits with how they have used it in that time. Just like a train station, the Underground Railroad had “stations” but they were houses or places that could keep the slaves safe for the time being when they were running away. The people who lived in those houses would take care of them for how ever many hours they stayed and then the slaves would start to take off to the North once again. These runners are very brave because if they get caught, they could have either been sent back or even killed. The Underground Railroad was a passage …show more content…

The slaves had to risk their lives attempting to escape to the North. It was either a live or die situation even though they survived the escape because they could still get caught in the North and would be sent back to the South to get punished. This was probably the toughest decision to make because anything bad could happen but they mainly did this for their families, their children, and of course lastly for themselves. The slaves wanted to protect each other and their families so even thought they did not know each other; they helped everyone escape the South. Despite taking its terminology from the railroads, highly structured organizations, the Underground Railroad was very loosely organized. Usually the people who were associated in the Underground Railroad did not have a clue of who was in the next “station”. When the people in the “stations” give the runners shelter, they would also provide food for them to eat. “Estimates of the number of slaves assisted vary widely, but only a minuscule fraction of those held in bondage ever escaped. Few, particularly from the Lower South, even attempted the arduous journey north. But the idea of organized “outsiders” undermining the institution of slavery angered white southerners, leading to their demands in the 1840s that the Fugitive Slave Laws be

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