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'''The Underground Railroad''' was a network of people who helped fugitive [[slave]]s from the south United States escape to the North and to [[Canada]]. It was not run by any single organization or person. Rather, it consisted of many individuals — many whites but predominantly blacks — who knew only of the local efforts to aid fugitives and not of the overall operation. Still, it effectively moved hundreds of slaves northward each year — according to some estimates, the South lost 100,000 slaves between 1810 and 1850.
'''The Underground Railroad''' is a greatly exaggerated image of a network of safe houses to help runaway slaves from the South make it into Canada in the 1840s and 1850s. A few hundred runaways did use safe houses. But after the Civil War thousands of people claimed their house had served as part of the system.
There was no system. Most runaways were recaptrued but the fortunate few were aided by abolitionists and--more often--by the black communities in towns along the route.
[[category:United States History]]
[[category:Slavery]]