Which direction did the Underground Railroad go?

Underground Railroad routes went north to free states and Canada, to the Caribbean, into United States western territories, and Indian territories. Some fugitive slaves traveled south into Mexico for their freedom.



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During the era of slavery, the Underground Railroad was a network of routes, places, and people that helped enslaved people in the American South escape to the North. The name “Underground Railroad” was used metaphorically, not literally.

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The Underground Railroad went north to freedom. Sometimes passengers stopped when they reached a free state such as Pennsylvania, New Jersey, or Ohio. After 1850, most escaping enslaved people traveled all the way to Canada. They had to go to Canada to make sure they would be safe.

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The majority of slaves attempting to escape from the South went to the North and many continued to Canada. Some runaways returned to their masters and others were caught by bloodhounds and slave patrols, accidents and informants.

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Slaves proved to be economical on large farms where labor-intensive cash crops, such as tobacco, sugar and rice, could be grown. By the end of the American Revolution, slavery became largely unprofitable in the North and was slowly dying out.

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The Underground Railroad was the network used by enslaved black Americans to obtain their freedom in the 30 years before the Civil War (1860-1865). The “railroad” used many routes from states in the South, which supported slavery, to “free” states in the North and Canada.

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7 Facts About the Underground Railroad
  • The Underground Railroad was neither underground nor a railroad. ...
  • People used train-themed codewords on the Underground Railroad. ...
  • The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 made it harder for enslaved people to escape. ...
  • Harriet Tubman helped many people escape on the Underground Railroad.


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Underground Railroad, in the United States, a system existing in the Northern states before the Civil War by which escaped slaves from the South were secretly helped by sympathetic Northerners, in defiance of the Fugitive Slave Acts, to reach places of safety in the North or in Canada.

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Southerners were outraged that escaping slaves received assistance from so many sources and that they lived and worked in the North and Canada.

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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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Harriet Tubman, the most famous conductor of the Underground Railroad, safely escorts escaped enslaved people to freedom in Canada. Contrary to popular belief, the Underground Railroad was not a series of underground tunnels!

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That honor instead goes to Haiti, the first nation to permanently ban slavery and the slave trade from the first day of its existence.

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