Definition of Underground Railroad

The slavery divided the United States of America and was, in a very simplistic explanation, the main cause of the civil war that ravaged the country from 1861 to 1865 - although, analyzed in more depth, the origin of the conflict it underlies deep socio-economic divisions between the north and the south of the time.

From the north, mostly anti-slavery, runaway slaves from the south were helped, both with legal regulations that protected, as through a secret organization that provided escape routes, supplies and support on their route to the Liberty. Welcome to the history of underground railway.

The call underground railway It consisted of a network helping runaway slaves from the southern United States to get safely to northern states where slavery was illegal or to Canada.

It operated from the late 18th century until after the American Civil War, in 1865, when slavery was officially abolished. (Although racial segregation and oppression against people of color continued officially in the American South until the middle of the twentieth century).

The name of the underground railway is due to the use of terms from the world of trains as euphemisms to name elements and people that made up the network.

Thus, a via it was an escape route that runaway slaves could follow to get north. A station it was a safe place to hide or spend the night, cared for by one (or one) station boss. A machinist he was the one who led runaway slaves on the road to freedom.

The network operated in independent "cells", which often had no contact between them, so that if one fell, this did not harm the rest of the network. He is the same modus operandi with which he acts - saving distances, of course - the terrorism Islamic in our days, and let it be known that I only compare the way of organizing, not the end of both, radically different.

The trips were normally made on foot, although sometimes stretches were made by cart or even by train, using subterfuges such as the transport of slaves (something that went easily unnoticed).

Normally, the network was staffed by people from the movement abolitionist, even by former escaped slaves, who were at high risk with their activities, since in case of being caught helping runaway slaves, they could even be lynched by those who they were chasing. Who is older danger They were running, without a doubt, they were ex-slaves who had achieved freedom, who could be viciously murdered to set an example and a lesson to others. The escaped slaves themselves, of course, could also suffer the same fate.

The maximum peak of activity of the underground railway It is situated between a few years before the start of the Civil War, and its effective beginning. During the conflict, military operations and surveillance made escapes very difficult.

Oddly enough, and in addition to the fact that the army of the north enlisted citizens of color, in the south There were also units of "black soldiers" fighting, paradoxically, for the cause of those who loved them. press. Wars are always much more complicated than explained.

Why were they fleeing north? Simple: there slavery was forbidden, and anyone who came to his lands was considered a free man, and could not be enslaved. However, kidnappings occurred, and some former slaves found themselves again, oblivious to their own will, again in southern lands to be enslaved again, although the cases were few due to the logistical difficulty of carrying out the kidnappings.

In the South, a price was put on the heads of some of the members of the Underground Railroad, such as Harriet Tubman, a former slave who joined the infrastructure of railway contributing to the freedom of more than 70 slaves.

The real impact of underground railway It differs when we talk about the economic and psychological: less than is thought for the first, but very important in the second section.

Acquiring a slave was not cheap, and therefore escaping from one was always an inexpensive "stick" for him. I love the one who escaped, but overall, the number of escapees did not exceed that of the vegetative growth of the population slave.

However, the psychological impact was very profound: for slaves there was hope, and a person with hope in a goal is capable of incredible things. That is why the southern authorities and landowners were obstinate in putting an end to the railway, something impossible since escape routes multiplied, and continued to add support each year that operated.

Once reached the destination, the life of the freed slave was not easy. But, for the rest of his life to begin with, he had at least what so many, over the centuries, have fought for, lost, and sometimes won: freedom. The personal. the collective would only be achieved a long time later and there are still traces in American society of the racism from that time, which we can see almost any day in the news that reaches us from there.

Because is there any society in the world that is free from this scourge that is racism and that, after all, justifies the slavery of those who have a different skin color?

Photos: Fotolia - Shubas / LukaTDB

Topics in Underground Railroad