They participated in a kind of civil
disobedience. However, the bravest workers on the underground
railroad were black. If they were caught, especially in the
South, they would have to pay the ultimate price for their
heroism. The best known of all the black conductors was a brave
runaway slave woman named Harriet Tubman. She ventured deep
into the South on several occasions to lead large numbers of
slaves to freedom, and she became a national legend. Several
states put a price on her head. During the Civil War she served
as a Union spy behind confederate lines.
Gradually the abolitionist movement and the Underground
Railroad won the support of ever-increasing numbers of white
Northerners. At the same time, the South became increasingly
bitter. Abolitionist literature was banned throughout the South, and
most of the abolitionist leaders, because they had
circulated literature in violation of this ban, had a price put
on their heads. The Underground Railroad was more than a symbolic
attack on the institution of slavery. While there is no way of
telling how many slaves traveled to freedom with its help,
certainly the value of human property lost to the South was very
high.
Pages:
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147