Underground Railroad Research Paper

901 Words4 Pages
The Underground Railroad is an extremely important piece of Canadian history, and it was a benefit to many refugees in search of freedom during the 19th century. The railroad was an intricate system consisting of tunnels, various above ground routes, and safe houses from locations across the United States to Canadian provinces. Railroad terms were used as code words for guides and refugees. Places also had specific code names. The underground railroad was an attempt to end slavery, aided by the Abolitionist movement. It was extremely successful for many years, and helped thousands of slaves find freedom. Nearly 100000 slaves found refuge through the Underground Railroad. 30-40000 of those went to Canada. There were settlements all across…show more content…
The first tangible record of Africville dates back to 1761. Land was granted to several white families, some of whom imported and sold enslaved Africans. In 1836, it is said that several black families lived in the Africville area, which earned it the first variation of it’s name, ‘African Village’. These people were Maroons, freed slaves, and refugees from the War of 1812. As time went on, more refugees came to Africville via the underground railroad. Though it was a place of freedom, life was mediocre at best. The village lacked basic necessities, such as electricity, running water, sewers, and paved road access, yet inhabitants were still expected to pay taxes. Over the years, Africville was slowly destroyed by the city of Halifax, and eventually, relocation was necessary. Many did not stay in Africville after the relocation took…show more content…
It instilled fear into slave owners, and they did not want to go to war, out of fear that they would be acted out against, and their families would be killed as retaliation by the slaves. John Laurens and Alexander Hamilton, two army officers, wanted to give slaves the chance to fight for their freedom, and suggested creating multiple brigades of Negroes to fight alongside the Patriots in exchange for freedom. They were certain that if the Patriots did not offer this opportunity to slaves, the British would. Though it seemed fair enough to most, the proposal was shut down when slave owners in the legislature stated that they were against
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