History of the Underground Railroad- Slavery
One of the most shameful periods in United States history
occurred during the nineteenth century with the institution of
slavery. While slavery constituted a social evil that many feel
still has reverberations in contemporary society, the institution
also served as a vital economic base to southern landowners who
relied upon slavery for cheap labor. The slaves were considered
vital to the thriving cotton trade, resulting in a "trained"
slave being worth $2,500 (a vastly significant sum of money for
that time period). The first organized resistance to the slave
owners, the Underground Railroad, was started as a result of The
Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.