Abolitionists were people in favor of getting rid of certain laws. The underground railroad was run by abolitionists. In this case they were fighting against the law that made slavery legal. The abolitionist movement was against human bondage, therefore the underground railroad secretly lead slave runaways to freedom. It was know to the slave-owners as "organized theft". It was a very mysterious thing. "It confronted human bondage without any direct demands or intended violence; yet, its efforts played a prominent role in the destruction of the institution of slavery."(National Geographic Society, pg.1

In 1850, Congress passed the Compromise of 1850 to try to settle the differences between the North and South. The Compromise consisted of the declaration that demanded the return of runaways. It also stated that federal and state officials as well as citizens had to help to capture them. This created the problem that the Northern states weren't safe for runaways any longer. This law even put the status of free black men at risk. Slave catchers would then frequently kidnap free black men and sell them into bondage. Places in major urban centers were no longer safe for runaways.

Slave owners in the South certainly weren't happy about the loss of "property". It seemed like too much money was being lost. This caused the South to pass the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793. This titled slaves as property of their owners and gave permission to the owners to retrieve runaways any where in the states, even those that were free. The North was angry about the treatment of the slaves and was not happy about owners being allowed to come into their states to take the slaves back. Finally, the North decided to do something about it. To return the fire thrown at them by the South, they would take away something that the North thought was morally wrong, and the South's riches. They would help the slaves escape to freedom. The slaves were now angry, scared, and confused. Hearing of this Underground Railroad, they slowly began to run, more and more.

) This was very intimidating to the owners.

The slaves often walked in zig zag patterns so they would be less likely to be captured. The people of the North that were willing to help made up some elaborate disguises for the slaves. Men were dressed as women, women were dressed as men, slave's would exchange clothes for those of a colored rich man that was free to disguise the true identity of the slave when seen in public. There were also some slaves that traveled the road. Some would go by foot, in a carriage, or in a wagon usually containing a fake bottom making a tiny space where slaves could travel, unnoticed to freedom. Some traveled on "surface lines," the actual railroads of this time. Lightly colored slaves would dress as whites, and others would be put in with the luggage and freight. Some of the more daring folk would actually travel as baggage. Henry "Box" Brown was one of those people. He made the long trip to freedom in a large box labeled "this side up," and "Fragile." I guess when you want to be free so bad, you'll do anything to achieve it!

The slaves mostly traveled at night to avoid detection. They were usually young adults, male, unattached, and highly skilled. Very rarely, if ever, did families flee all at once. They

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Approximate Word count = 1816
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)