How did northerners feel about the Underground Railroad?

Although only a small minority of Northerners participated in the Underground Railroad, its existence did much to arouse Northern sympathy for the lot of the slave in the antebellum period, at the same time convincing many Southerners that the North as a whole would never peaceably allow the institution of slavery to ...



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By provoking fear and anger in the South, and prompting the enactment of harsh legislation that eroded the rights of white Americans, the Underground Railroad was a direct contributing cause of the Civil War. It also gave many African Americans their first experience in politics and organizational management.

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The industrialized Union possessed an enormous advantage over the Confederacy — they had 20,000 miles of railroad track, more than double the Confederacy's 9,000 miles.

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Railroads were visible symbols of industry and modernity during the Civil War. They were agents of progress, promoters of civilization, and enhancers of democracy which could bind the North and the South together as one nation. They were also the lifeline of the army.

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Needless to say, slave owners did not appreciate the Underground Railroad. Although they disliked Abolitionist talk and literature, the railroad was far worse. To them, these were simple cases of stolen property. Slave catchers often traveled to the North to try to recapture freed slaves.

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In the 1700 and 1800s, major rivers were known as Freedom Roads, and if you explore the Roanoke River in Halifax County, you'll find pieces of the Underground Railroad's history still standing today.

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Although the first railroads were successful, attempts to finance new ones originally failed as opposition was mounted by turnpike operators, canal companies, stagecoach companies and those who drove wagons. Opposition was mounted, in many cases, by tavern owners and innkeepers whose businesses were threatened.

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In short, railroads were machines that revolutionized the timber industry. Just as railroads mechanized and accelerated production throughout the economy of the Pacific Northwest, the steam donkey further mechanized and accelerated production in the timber industry.

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Slavery was an integral part of southern life. Many southern politicians, journalists, and economists began to argue that the northern free labor system harmed society more than slavery did. Southerners claimed that enslaved people were healthier and happier than northern wage workers.

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