Under Ground Railroad

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6 days of work, mistreatment, no pay, unbearable conditions and no rights. This was a slave’s life and there one was only one way to overcome this kind of life. The Underground Railroad was an important part of our nation’s history and served as a getaway from slavery. It gave slaves a route to freedom. Although the system was no easy task slaves had to take incredible risks in order to achieve freedom. The Underground Railroad gave slaves a route to freedom and equality. Slaves lived in horrible conditions. Their life centered on their work for their owner. Their owners owned everything they had including their families and their freedom. They were treated and sold at auctions like animals (Matthew Kane). Who wouldn’t want to get away from these horrible conditions? The Underground Railroad served as this getaway. Many ask what exactly is the Underground Railroad? Some people at first might give it a literal meaning and think of a railroad station underground. But it was nothing like that. The Underground Railroad got underground from their routes to freedom’s secrecy as if the route was underground or invisible. The railroad part of the name came from the terminology they used, slaves were called cargo, safe houses were called stations, and those who guided the slaves were called the conductors. . Others say the network of pathways got its name from a Kentucky slave Tice who was being chased by his slave owner. Tice was so determined to escape slavery by swimming to the Ohio shoreline. He dove into the freezing water with his slave owner chasing him on boat. Tice was going so fast that when his slave owner lost sight of him he said he must have taken an “Underground Railroad”. But the Under Ground Railroad had a much greater m... ... middle of paper ... ... Imagine if you were a slave and had to follow these treacherous routes knowing you could be found or killed at any second. Works Cited Cayton, Andrew.et.al.Prentice Hall America; Pathways to Present. Wright City, MO, U.S.A: Prentice Hall, 1 January 2007. Print. “Facts about the Underground Railroad.” Factsmonk.com.FactsMonk.com. 2005-2011.Web.29 October 2013. underground-railroad>. “Fast facts- The Underground Railroad.” mapsofworld.com.Compare Infrobase Ltd.2014.Web. 28 January 2014. mapsofworld.com/pages/fast-facts/ the-underground-railroad/>. “The Underground Railroad.”pbs.org. Resource Bank.2014.Web.28.January 2014. 4p2944.htn>. “Pathways to Freedom.”pathways.thinkport.org. Maryland Public Television.2014.web.21.April 2014. < pathways.thinkport.org/about/about2.cfm‎>.

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