The time of American Slavery was a dark time in America. Most people around the south either owned slaves or were losing slaves. There was no in between. During the time period of 1810-1850, the south lost over 100,000 slaves. Although, most of the slaves that escaped were from the southern states that were closest to the North. Most slaves that were in the Deep South were not able to escape on the Underground Railroad because the distance between it and them was quite sizable. Some people may be wondering how you could lose one hundred thousand people. Well, the answer is The Underground Railroad. There is a common misconception about this so called “Railroad”, it is not a railroad at all. It got it’s name because it was during started right after the time of steam locomotive was invented. Along with the slaves route to freedom being called The Underground Railroad, came the railway terms for many different things. For example, the places the slaves would rest and eat were called “stations” and were run by “stationmaster’s”. The slaves themselves were called “passengers”, or “baggage” to go along with the railroad induced theme. There are many other ways that the Underground was commonly misconceptualized as a true railroad because of the way it was used to transport people and allow them to move unnoticed. The Underground Railroad did not have a true structure of people who were able to help move the slaves or house them, but there were plenty of volunteers to help with the process. Arguably the most famous “conductor or Engineer” on the Underground was Harriet Tubman. Harriet Tubman was a former slave who escaped via the Underground Railroad and then made nineteen more trips into the south to escort over 300 slaves to freedom. Harriet was nicknamed “Moses” by an abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison because she reminded him of a modern day Moses.
The Underground railroad and its many different secrets were kept in the dark to almost everyone except for a few trustworthy people here and there. Not only are the people who were running the Underground putting themselves at risk, but the slaves are also risking a lot on trying to escape from the slave owners. If a person was found to have been aiding a runaway slave, they could spend up to 6 months in jail with other fines and consequences. A family of slaves knew they were going to be rescued when they got an encoded message that contained a song. They were told to wait for the song and that would be the signal to begin their escape. Most of the people who were “engineers” along the railroad knew only about a few surrounding stops, but not the whole route. This helped keep them out of trouble if anyone came looking around for information about the slaves. The people who came looking for the slaves, were often bounty hunters who just wanted to get the reward for not only the slaves, but for the people who were helping them escape. Many of the “conductors” who would transport the slaves to their next stop would have different routes they could take in case they were caught in a tough situation. Normally, when they arrived at their destination, the conductor would say, “i am a friend with friends” to let the new station know that they were about to receive new guests. Although the railroad was quite useful to those who knew about it, the slaves in the Deep South did not even know this escape existed until slavery was abolished.
The underground railroad also played a key role in the abolishment of slavery. During this time period, Abraham Lincoln was becoming the President of the United States and he was working on a way to end the feud between the North and the South. Yes, we had the Civil War in which the North won and finally ended slavery, but one of the main reasons that the North was so angry with the south was because of the slaves that the south had. When some of the slaves from the south escaped using the railroad, it made the north realize how bad everything was getting on the slave plantations. In modern day America, we have documents and laws protecting people from being enslaved like that again. Article four in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, “No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms”. This law helps protect anyone from ever being put in this situation ever again. Another good Article that portrays this is Article one in the UDHR. It states, “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood”. This article also shows an example of the laws and documents that are in place to ensure that no one will ever be enslaved again.
In conclusion, the Underground Railroad was not a walk through the park to get through. Not only was it extremely dangerous but it was also pretty unconditional. Although, I do suppose it was better than shipping yourself to a White abolitionist like one slave did to escape his slave owner. Although, the time of slavery was a rough time, it helped bring about laws to stop that from ever happening again in America. The railroad played a big part in allowing accounts of slaves to be recorded and to help free slaves from their tough lives. In the end, The Underground Railroad saved many lives of many great people and it helped our country become a unified place that now protects each others human rights.
http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/tag/underground-railroad/
Citations
- http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/08/22/the-perilous-lure-of-the-underground-railroad
- http://www.historynet.com/underground-railroad
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.