Underground Railroad

:This page is for the U.S. slave escape route. For railroads elsewhere built underground, see Metro and London Underground.

Legal and political

The Underground Railroad was a major cause of friction between the North and South. Many northerners sympathized with those who helped to deliver slaves to safety. For many years, southerners pushed for strong laws to force the recapture of runaway slaves. The Fugitive Slave Law of 1793 was the first law passed by the U.S. Congress to address the issue of escaped slaves in free states; and in 1850, Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, which mandated the capture of fugitive slaves. This prevented runaways from settling legally in free states, forcing them to escape into Canada. The law also provided an impetus for the growth of Underground Railroad routes through free states such as Ohio. During the same period, a series of unsuccessful slave rebellions led to retaliatory violence by vigilantes against innocent slaves, which increased the numbers of runaways heading North.

Related Topics:
North - South - Fugitive Slave Law of 1793 - U.S. Congress - 1850 - Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 - Fugitive slave - Ohio - Slave rebellion - Vigilante

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When frictions between North and South culminated in the American Civil War, many blacks, slave and free, fought with the Union Army. Following the passing of the Thirteenth Amendment, in some cases, the Underground Railroad operated in reverse as fugitives returned to the United States.

Related Topics:
American Civil War - Thirteenth Amendment

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