What Was The And The Underground Railroad - 1678 Words

What was Philadelphia’s Contribution to the Underground Railroad? The Underground Railroad is a well known system that helped many enslaved African Americans escape from their southern masters, to the north. This system is one of the reasons for the start of the civil war between the Union and Confederates in the nineteenth century. Becoming what many slaves saw as their ticket to freedom, Philadelphia helped spark the ambition of the fugitive slaves to escape from their owners and venture through the unknown landscapes of the Northern regions in order to become free black citizens. The Underground Railroad, separating the contradicting ideas of the North and South, pushed the slave and non-slave states to eventually have a civil war†¦show more content†¦The Underground Railroad system was spread across a majority of the North and up into Canada, where the slaves did not have to obey the Fugitive Slave Acts. In Pennsylvania alone there were many different routes and n etworks consisting of, The Bedford-Clearfield Route, Uniontown-Pittsburgh Route, Washington Route,the Central Route, the Philadelphia Network and the Crawford-Erie Network. Each route and network alone rescuing a multitude of slaves. The slaves migrated from their homes in the south and up into the north by foot, by carriage and by boat. Many of the exit ports were located Philadelphia making the city a large import of runaway slaves. This ticket to freedom, although worth every penny, was costly if a slave was to get caught. Some slaves who chose to venture to the North were often hunted down by slave catchers. These men at times carried with them dogs to hunt down, confine, and capture the slaves that were south of the Mason-Dixon line. This made the journey even more difficult for the slaves. In order to stay away from captivity they had to stow away, staying hidden from anyone who is not willing to help. This forced them to travel mostly at night from â€Å"station to stationâ €  and live in tight quarters in the â€Å"conductors† basements or attics.