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Slave's experience on a plantation
About slavery in the south introduction
About slavery in the south introduction
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The Underground Railroad was a pathway that allowed many slaves to escape bondage. Traditionally, the Underground Railroad is taught as being a pathway that only led towards the northern part of the United States. For slaves in the Deep South, including states such as South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, the Underground Railroad running North was almost unreachable. With fewer obstacles to tackle, a slave of the Deep South could escape to Mexico. Due to its distance from free states in the North and British Canada, the Deep South is not usually a part of discussions of the Underground Railroad. However, evidence shows that the Underground Railroad brought hope for some slaves in Texas by providing a route to Mexico. The Underground Railroad was not an actual railroad, nor was it an established route. It was, however, a way of getting slaves from the South to the North, or in this case, from the Deep South, to Mexico. In the 1800s, slavery was a major issue. As the United States began to mature, slavery began to divide. Slavery in the considered “Northern States” was emancipated, and slaves, still under bondage in the South, were looking for ways to get to the North. The Underground Railroad was one way to find freedom. A common myth about the Underground Railroad is that it was only in a pathway full of people, all trying to make it to the North for freedom. The truth is there was hardly any help in the South. The major help came along when the slaves reached the North. A former slave by the name of James Boyd was once interviewed in Itasca, Texas on this very subject. He recalls that many slaves running across the established border between Mexico and Texas to reach freedom in Mexico. ... ... middle of paper ... ...ote, W. Josheph. “Pathways of Freedom to Mexico: Rethinking the Underground Railroad 1810-1865.” Pathways to Freedom in the Americas. accessed 7, Nov. 2013. , http://history.state.gov/milestones/1830-1860/texas-annexation. Muzzey, Saville David. “The Mexican War.” The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco.” accessed 2 Nov. 2013. http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist6/muzzey.html Smith, Bruce. “Focus on Slaves’ escape route to South.” Long Island Newsday (2012). http://www.newsday.com/news/nation/focus-on-slaves-escape-route-to-south-1.3610558 Vaughn, Bobby. “Historical Sketch.” Afro-Mexico. Accessed 9 Nov. 2013. http://www.afromexico.com/historical-sketch/ Wilkins, Ron. “Mexico welcomed fugitive slaves and African job-seekers.” Global Research. 4 May 2008. http://www.globalresearch.ca/mexico-w elcomed-fugitive-slaves-and-african-american-job-seekers.