Routes of Escape of the Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad was a secrective organization that helped thousands of blacks escape slavery and reach freedom. It was neither a railroad nor underground. It was a term that caught on from legend. The Underground Railroad came into existence in the early 1830s. In spite of the danger, participation cut across economic, racial, and religious lines, uniting whites, free blacks, and brave escapees. The involvement in the Underground Railroad had to be taken in strict secrecy in order to protect those citizens willing to place themselves in jeopardy by breaking federal fugitive slave laws. The Underground Railroad was revered for the help it provided to fugitive slaves. It is estimated that the railroads helped a hundred thousand blacks out of more than three million who were held as slaves. Although the Underground Railroad had multiple direct routes to the North, the paths were not linked with any of the western towns of Massachusetts. This did not affect the impact nor influence that the Underground Railroad and the issue of slavery had on the communities of Northampton and Florence. The anti-slavery movement considerably inspired and molded these northeast communities.