Underground Railroad Causes and Consequences

1. Consequences

1.1. Capture

1.1.1. They would be beaten and forced to do exceptionally hard work. Although no records were kept, it can be assumed that hundreds were caught and put to more work.

1.1.2. One other punishment would be to be sold “south”. Being sold to someone more south would make it much harder for the slave to run away again.

1.2. Illness

1.2.1. Men and women would generally travel 10 and 20 miles station after station to finally reach Canada via the UR. In the Underground Railroad had the danger of injury or illness and had high chances of encountering wild animals. However, despite these risks, slaves travelled through these harsh conditions.

1.2.2. Another aspect of illness is starvation. In the early 1800s, when travelling through the UR, food and water lacked and could therefore too lead to illness.

2. Causes

2.1. The cause of the Underground Railroad was to have a common yet risky solution to escape one's slave-master and travel to Canada.