I know you're wondering, what railroad? Well the simple fact is
that everybody has heard of the Underground Railroad, but not everyone
knows just what it was. Firstly, it wasn't underground, and it wasn't
even a railroad. The term "Underground Railroad" actually comes from a
runaway slave, who while being chased swam across a creek and was out
of the owner's sight. The owner said "...must have gone off on an
underground railroad." That man was Tice Davids, a Kentucky slave who
decided to live in freedom in 1831. The primary importance of the
Underground Railroad was the on going fight to abolish slavery, the
start of the civil war, and it was being one of our nation's first
major anti-slavery movements.
The history of the railroad is quite varied according to whom
you are talking. Slavery in America thrived and continued to grow
because there was a scarcity of labor.
Perspectives on slavery
English: Whole map of the underground railroad. Ne...
International Underground Railroad Memorial in Win...Cultivation of crops on
plantations could be supervised while slaves used simple routines to
harvest them, the low price at which slaves could be bought, and
earning profits as a bonus for not having to pay hired work.
Slaves turned to freedom for more than one reason. Some were
obsessed with being free and living a life where they were not told
how to live. Others ran due to fear of being separted or sold from
friends and family. Then there were some who were treated so cruely,
that it forced them to run just to stay alive. Since coming to America
as slaves even back as far back as when the first colonies began,
slaves wanted to escape. They wanted to get away from the situation
they were forced into. Those who were free were the "whites" who were
somewhat separated in values. The North, was a...