The Underground Railway

The Underground Railroad was a secret network of routes and safe houses used by enslaved African Americans to escape from captivity in the southern United States to free states and Canada during the 19th century. Operated by abolitionists and supporters, it involved careful planning, coded communication, and hidden passages to avoid detection. Despite its name, it wasn't an actual railway but a series of covert efforts that relied on people’s willingness to risk danger to help others attain freedom. The Underground Railroad was a vital part of the broader movement to end slavery in America.