The Underground Railroad

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Risking your life to run away from your master was very dangerous. An estimated 27 million slaves were caught trying to escape, according to Interesting Facts about the Underground Railroad, “100 thousand slaves escaped using the Railroad system.” When they were caught the punishments weren’t merciful. In order to be free you had to be in Canada. If you had the chance to run away would you? Would you want to get the education that you always wanted? According to the Interesting Facts about Underground Railroad, “Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 made it more difficult for slaves to escape. The law allowed for slaves to be returned to their masters even though they were in a free state.” So there was a chance that you could still be caught even if …show more content…
Work on the plantation life was difficult and the pay was not much, the author of Slave Narratives said “fifty cents a day for chopping.” That was on special holidays. Running away seemed like the best option. But, running away has its downside too. For instance, a quote from slave narratives say, “Oh my soul! It makes my hair stand up to think how we were getting caught and carried back, to be abused and maltreated unreasonably, and without cause.” This may cause many people to believe that staying at the plantation was is a good idea. But living as a slave was not the …show more content…
Slave narrative say “I had heard that if I could get into Ohio and manage to stay there one year, I would, after that, be a free man.” The journey to freedom was long and hard, but it was worth it.

The Underground Railroad was a major part in slaves escaping. The Underground Railroad was not underground, nor it was a railroad. The name Underground Railroad was just a code name. People who helped others escape were called conductors. Stopping places or resting places were called stations. Harriet Tubman played a major role in the Underground Railroad. In fact “Rewards offered by slaveholders for the capture of Harriet Tubman eventually totaled forty thousand dollars. That was a lot back then. No one knows how many people aided in the escape of slaves.

They got food and a home to sleep. Slaves that were escaping had to work for everything they want. They got a bed to sleep on and a roof to live under. But their houses weren’t the best. There were slaves that chose to stay for many different reasons. Some earned their freedom by working. The slaves that had skills were able to earn money. Not the work that their master gave them. Rarely owners were kind enough to set them free or kind enough not to hurt
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