Events Related to the Underground Railroad

One of the last events leading up to the end of the Underground Railroad and slavery was the Emancipation Proclamation. This was issued by President Lincoln and it abolished slavery in the Confederate states. This declared all slaves free.

First, in a long fight between the north and south over slavery was the Fugitive slave law of 1793. This law required officials of any state to help recover and return slaves who escaped. All the owner of the slave needed to do was present proof of ownership. Escaped slaves were not allowed a trial. Even some free blacks were kidnapped in the north and taken to the south as slaves. For this reason, many people in the north ignored this law.

The Civil War began in 1861. Many historians agree that slavery was one of the major issues of the war. Eleven states made up the Confederacy. They had seceded from the U.S. Their population of slaves was 25% of their total population. Although the Underground Railroad continued to exist during the Civil War, it had new ideas and goals. The war actually made it easier for slaves to escape because it was more difficult for slave owners to claim runaways and slaves escaped through Union military forces. Even southern whites, who opposed the Confederacy and tried to escape to the north, were helped by the Underground Railroad.

Then, in a long line of soon to be famous escaped slaves, was a slave named Frederick Douglass. Douglass escaped at the age of 21 disguised as a sailor. He boarded a train from Maryland to Philadelphia. Douglass fought against the idea that blacks could not be educated. He was taught to read by his owner’s wife. He gave many antislavery speeches and started a newspaper called "The North Star". Douglass used his own home as a station on the Underground Railroad. He wrote and published his own story, "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave."

Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, published in book form, was one of the reasons many northerners were so willing to fight in the Civil War. It is a story of a kind old slave beaten by a cruel master. This story also convinced many northerners that slavery needed to be abolished.

Next in a line of very important events leading up to the Civil War was the Dred Scott Decision. Dred Scott was a slave who belonged to a U.S. Army surgeon in Missouri. The state of Missouri permitted slavery. Scott next went with his owner to live in Illinois, which prohibited slavery. They later moved to the Wisconsin Territory where slavery was also forbidden. Later, Scott moved back to Missouri with his owner who then died. Three years later, Scott sued for his freedom. The Dred Scott Decision declared that no black, free or slave, could claim U.S. citizenship. Therefore Scott could not sue for his freedom. It also claimed that no state could forbid slavery, if a slave owner chose to move there. In conclusion, Scott was not a free man.

Abraham Lincoln was then elected as the 16th president of the United States in November 1860. President Lincoln publicly objected to slavery. This led to southern states succeeding from the U.S. based on the belief that they would not be allowed to keep their slaves under Abraham Lincoln. It was during his presidency that the Civil War began.

Then came the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. This law was different from the 1793 law in that it required officials of the federal government to assist in the recovery of escaped slaves. This law forced all Americans, even those in free states, to help slave owners capture escaped slaves. Some northerners believed this was against the right of a state to decide whether it would be free or slave.

Finally, abolishing slavery was the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution. This amendment outlaws slavery.