Relative to the practice of slavery what was the underground railroad?

Answer 1

The underground railroad was neither a railroad nor was it underground. It used terminology from the railroad. A house where runaway slaves were welcome was called a "station." Sometimes word spread among slaves where to find a station. In the novel, Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, the runaway slave, Jim, knew of one such place in Cairo, Illinois. A slave might need to travel from one slave cabin to another slave cabin for a few days until he could find a station. At a station, he or she would find a conductor. The conductor would provide safe passage to the next station. That passage might be in a wagon underneath a load of hay. Or, they might be hidden in some other way. At the next station, they would be fed and there they would sleep and perhaps spend a day or two until another conductor took them to the next station. That continued until they reached their destination.