The Underground Railroad Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Underground Railroad - Research Paper Example The growing activity of Underground Railroad gave a completely new meaning to the concept of slavery and freedom among American society. The activity did not accurately take place underground but it was carried out in clandestine, using masquerade or in the night. The term railroad subsequently came as an identity because the resting places were known as stations and those who helped the slaves to travel towards their freedom were conductors and the payments they collected were either called parcels or shipment. The whole network spread across through 14 northern states and the freedom land, which was either Canada or Mexico (Foner et al 1991). There are many stories explaining about the source of the title Underground Railway. One source narrates the story that in early 1831; Tice David found his way out from Kentucky somewhere near Sandusky in Northern Ohio. The person who was in charge of imprisoning Tice David started a search across the Ohio River in Ripley and stated the term Underground Railroad by saying, â€Å"The Nigger must have gone off on an underground railroad†. The second source claims the identity of the term Underground Railroad similar to the first one but they claim that it was coined in Pennsylvania by the slave hunters. Whereas the third allegation was in Washington DC in 1839, where a tortured slave stated that after his successful escape, he came north where he found the Underground Railroad that would led him to Boston.... No one really knows the true reason behind what gave the slave runaway an identity as The Underground Railroad (Blight 1986). Underground Railroad system helped many slaves to make their way from South to North to a safe place. The activity started in 1787, when an escaped prisoner named Isaac T. Hooper designed a way to help the enslaved people to escape, giving them a place to hide with food and shelter. People who opposed the system of slavery contributed to provide homes as a shelter for the slaves. The network of Underground Railroad was across in 14 Northern states and Canada and by 1850, more than 3000 people worked together to help the slaves to reach the Promised Land (Blight 1990). Before the Civil War, many slaves found their way to gain freedom from the slavery. According to some figures, it was estimated that more than 1000 slaves escaped per year. Most of the people who escaped wanted to end the slavery and some of them just wanted to reach to their friends and families . Some slaves settled in the southern region in different towns and cities using fake documents. It is believed that the majority of fugitives tried to find their way to North and many of the fugitives kept going towards Canada. Some of the escaped prisoners willingly came back to their masters and a large number of slaves got caught by slave hunters. For those who attempted to get to the North, support came from many Native Americans and Africans. This support become obvious as the years passed. When the year 1830 passed, the supporters showed high support in carrying out this activity. The black community played an important role and later on the support was named The Underground Railroad. African people after escaping played a very important role in routing people to