The Underground Railroad
was not a railroad
per se but rather a network of clandestine routes, often informal and impromptu, by which slaves
were able to escape the United States
and reach freedom either in states that protected fugitive slaves, or in Canada
. The Underground Railroad consisted of secret safe houses and other facilities owned by anti-slavery sympathizers, and operated much like any other large-scale widespread resistance movement
with independent cells that only knew of a few of their neighbours. Escaped slaves would pass from one way station to another, making their way north step by step.
See also: Harriet Tubman
For underground railroads and railways in the general sense (subways, metros), see metro.
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