Frederick Douglass and the Abolition of Slavery Video
Frederick Douglass: From Slave to Statesman Frederick Douglass and the Abolition of Slavery.Frederick Douglass and the Abolition of Slavery - urbanization
The Underground Railroad was a network of secret routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early to midth century, and used by enslaved African-Americans to escape into free states and Canada. It ran north and grew steadily until the Civil War began. At its peak, nearly 1, enslaved people per year escaped from slave-holding states using the Underground Railroad — more than 5, court cases for escaped enslaved were recorded — many fewer than the natural increase of the enslaved population. The resulting economic impact was minuscule, but the psychological influence on slave holders was immense. Under the original Fugitive Slave Act of , officials from free states were required to assist slaveholders or their agents who recaptured fugitives, but citizens and governments of many free states ignored the law, and the Underground Railroad thrived. With heavy lobbying by Southern politicians, the Compromise of was passed by Congress after the Mexican—American War. It stipulated a more stringent Fugitive Slave Law ; ostensibly, the compromise addressed regional problems by compelling officials of free states to assist slave catchers, granting them immunity to operate in free states. Many Northerners who might have ignored enslavement issues in the South were confronted by local challenges that bound them to support slavery. This was a primary grievance cited by the Union during the American Civil War , [13] and the perception that Northern States ignored the fugitive slave law was a major justification for secession.
In a year in which conversations around racial justice have been in the foreground, new and exciting scholarship dealing with yhe legacy of slavery has never been more urgently needed. We encourage teachers to offer this event as an extra-credit opportunity for their students, and use our History Resources for additional curriculum materials on slavery and abolition.
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