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Underground Railroad Research Paper

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Research Report: The Underground Railroad slaves in Southern America faced oppression from being forced to work for numerous hours daily. They received cruel treatment as they worked in harsh conditions. However, there seemed to be one solution to finding freedom: making their way to the North. In order to reach the free states, slaves would need to find a route to the North without being captured by their masters. This marked the start of the Underground Railroad. Before the beginning of the American Civil War, there was a secret network system that freed thousands of slaves. This system was named the Underground Railroad, not for being directly underground or because it was a railway station, but “because of the secret nature of the network” …show more content…
The Southern Railroad aided slaves to escape and travel north. The Northern network would keep slaves in stations (hiding places of safety), to keep them from being returned to the south. It was important to ensure slaves would not be captured because of the active search for runaway slaves. Slave owners and masters printed advertisements for their escaped slaves in newspapers. Rewards for runaway slaves ranged from $20 to $100 depending on where they were found (Advertisements for Runaway Slaves). These rewards only encouraged whites to turn into slaves, making the journey to the North challenging. According to the “Selected Routes of the Underground Railroad'' Map, lengthy routes can be seen reaching the Northern States. Some routes started in Southern states like Louisiana and Florida and ended up in Mexico or the Caribbean. These arduous routes made the journey difficult as well. It was possible to stay secretive on the Underground Railroad because of using different terminology and codes. Phrases were used to signify arrivals of runaways, indicate if slaves were in the area, or alert enslaved people that an escape was being planned (The Underground

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