escape

=Escape= "   there arose in some an irrepressible desire for freedom which no danger or power could restrain, no hardship deterred, and no bloodhound could alarm. This desire haunted them night and day; they talked about it to each other in confidence; they knew that the system which bound them was as unjust as it was cruel, and that they ought to strive, as a duty to themselves and their children, to escape from it    "

One reason for running away was to keep loved ones together. Slaves always woke up with the fear of being sold to a different owner and uprooted from their families. Another reason would be to gain freedom, from their treacherous lives.

Escaping was extremely dangerous. Slaves would often run away in the dead of the night, so no one would notice their absence until the morning or when they're needed. Slaves were never sure of where they were, but they did know where they were going. While slaves were on their journey their former owners would put up "Run Away Slave" signs. On the signs the slave owner would offer a large reward for their slave(s) to be returned. Escaping usually meant taking risks in who you would trust, because someone might act like they're as the fugitives friend but then turn them in.If a slave was caught after attempting to run away they would be punished severely and most likely sold. Some would be beaten so much that they would die. If their attempt to escape succeeded, they would be free but they would always have to live with the fear of being caught or turned in and sent back to the south.



Slaves would escape through numerous amounts of routes to the North. These routes became known as the Underground Railroad. It wasn't literally a rail road underground. The Underground Railroad was created by an escaped slave, Harriet Tubman. The Underground Railroad was a network of many different people all over the north and the south. These people were white and former slaves. Some of the people who helped the fugitives to freedom would have assigned jobs. These jobs would even have the name of some of actual railroad jobs such as a conductor, depots, stationmasters, stations, and stock holders. The "conductor" would sometimes sneak into the plantation as a slave and would help lead the slaves north and the "conductor" was also in charge of getting the fugitives to one "station" to the next. The "depots" and "stations" were businesses and houses that the slaves would eat, sleep, rest, etc. The "stationmasters" would run the "depots" and "stations". The "stock holders" were people who donated money and other goods. Each of these jobs was extremely vital for the escaped slaves. To learn more about the Underground Railroad go to this link. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2944.html

Here is a link to a game that you act as a slave that's escaping through the Underground Railroad http://www.nationalgeographic.com/railroad/ Here is a link to a video that talks a lot about the Underground Railroad http://www.youtube.com/v/Q8nwJDR2O40&hl=en&fs=1 Slaves would use the Big Dipper as a guide that would lead them them north