The abolitionists used the stories of successful escapes to rally to action those who supported the causes of equality and freedom. Slave owners used the Railroad as a fear tactic to incite anger and persuade other slave owners to increase opposition to those that played roles in the Underground Railroad.
How were people affected by the Underground Railroad?
The Underground Railroad gave freedom to thousands of enslaved women and men and hope to tens of thousands more. Those who escaped became human witnesses to the slave system with many of them going on the lecture circuit to explain to Northerners the horrors of the servile institution.
How did Harriet Tubman feel about the Underground Railroad?
She was proud of her accomplishments and in 1896 spoke at a women's suffrage convention, “I was the conductor of the Underground Railroad for eight years, and I can say what most conductors can't say — I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger.” Freedom was bittersweet for Harriet Tubman.
How did Southerners react to the Underground Railroad?
What was the Underground Railroad in the southern states?
The Underground Railroad was a network of people working to take enslaved people from the southern United States to freedom in the northern U.S. and Canada. The Underground Railroad was the network used by enslaved black Americans to obtain their freedom in the 30 years before the Civil War (1860-1865).
What is the Southern Underground Railroad?
The Underground Railroad—the resistance to enslavement through escape and flight, through the end of the Civil War—refers to the efforts of enslaved African Americans to gain their freedom by escaping bondage. Wherever slavery existed, there were efforts to escape.
Was the Underground Railroad north to south?
The Underground Railroad was a network of people working to take enslaved people from the southern United States to freedom in the northern U.S. and Canada. The Underground Railroad was the network used by enslaved black Americans to obtain their freedom in the 30 years before the Civil War (1860-1865).