Life for a Slave

-Why did they run away?
Slaves were treated like property, and they were faced with hard labor. If they did something wrong, they would be brutally punished, and loved ones would be sent away from them. They would hear of the freedom in the North, and dreamed of escaping
-How did they escape?
Free blacks would send a field agent or conductor posing as a salesperson or slave and make contact with a slave who wants to escape. After gaining the slave’s trust, the agent would arrange the escape and hand him to the conductor. If the slave would go alone, he would sneak out during the night to escape.
-How and when did they travel?
The conductor would guide the fugitive to the first station and stayed hidden. The slave would be fed, sheltered, and may receive a disguise. All of these activities were funded by the stockholders. The conductors would guide them station to station. The generally traveld at 10 to 20 miles to go to the next station. If the slave was alone, the slave would follow the North Star. The fugitives would hide during the day and travel at night. If clouds were blocking the sky, the slaves would follow the moss on trees because moss grows on the north.
-Describe some of the routes they used?
The routes were purposely zigzagged to confuse slave hunters, yet this hindered the slaves as the stories of runaways mentioned getting lost ended up heading further south or going weeks out of the right way. Rainy days did help the slaves though too. Most of the routes led up to the North or Canada. It was a tiring journey as the slave had to escape through dense forest and rivers.
-Who were the people that helped them, and why?
Many people who helped the slaves were mostly free and enslaved blacks, but some whites did participated in the escapes. The Quakers were also involved. They thought of the stories of cruel masters and the sight of another human in agony also moved many people to act. There were about 3,200 “underground workers” with nearly half in Ohio.

Yenna Park

http://castle.eiu.edu/wow/classes/fa08/Garrett/tgugrr.html
http://mapoftheweek.blogspot.com/2012/02/pennsylvania-underground-railroad.html

http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/underground-railroad
http://history.howstuffworks.com/historical-events/underground-railroad.htm
http://thegoldenpathway.blogspot.com/2011/01/code-words-were-essential-in-conducting.html