What were "Fugitive Slaves" and the Underground Railroad?

Wherever there is slavery, there are people trying to escape it and find freedom.

Africans were first brought to North America as slaves in the early 1600s. By the 1800s, the majority of slaves were owned by southern plantation owners. Because of the terrible conditions, many enslaved people attempted to escape. Escaping slaves were called “fugitive slaves” because it was against the law to escape their owners in the slave-holding states in the South. Many fugitive slaves escaped to free states in the North or even to Canada without help from other people. Others escaped with the help of Abolitionists.

The Underground Railroad was not an actual railroad, nor was it underground. It was based on actual railroads that carried people and goods across the United States in the early 1800s. At this same time, the secret routes, hiding places, and people helping runaway slaves escape became known as the Underground Railroad. The term “underground” was used because the network was secret, and the term “railroad” was used because the network transported people from place to place.

At the end of this lesson you will be asked to write an essay explaining how Kentucky’s location and geography played an important role in slavery, fugitive slaves, and the Underground Railroad.