Underground Railroad And West Virginia - 1318 Words

Underground Railroad in Delaware, Maryland, and West Virginia For this critical review, I chose Underground Railroad in Delaware, Maryland, and West Virginia by William J. Switala. The purpose of this book was to explain exactly what the underground railroad was, how the slaves communicated with safe places, how it operated, and a few stories of how some of the slaves escaped away to the underground railroad and freedom. He also gives insight to what happened if the slaves were caught trying to escape or caught by another slave owner. Not to mention if a slave took a wrong turn or did not follow the signs left by others that had found freedom. He could find himself caught in broad daylight trying to escape. The Underground Railroad was†¦show more content†¦No doubt, I’m sure, some of the slaves debated turning back and receiving punishment just so they could have sustainable meals and shelter. In one account, Switala talks about James W. C. Pennington in one case. He had a minimum amount of food that he could bring with him, a half-pound piece of cornbread to be exact. The food he took with him had only sustained him for a few days. He was captured by another slave owner and had to plan another escape once again. Pennington had eventually ended up at the residence of Quaker W. W. and finally found his freedom. In this case, it was insane to see all the trials and tribulations that a slave had to go through just to get to freedom. Pennington was asked if he had his freedom papers and he lied saying yes as well as other lies that he composed along the way. I think it was wrong that an individual, a human being, had to go through so much just to be treated like a â€Å"white individual† at the time. Slaves were nothing more than property to most and some were even more valuable than others due to the trade skills that they knew or learned. I think one reason that it was hard for some of the slaves to escape is that there were so many different routes to choose from to get to safety. Sometimes the routes were not deemed safe or would change. In my opinion the slave owners were greedy back then too. Some offered rewards for the return of their slaves because basically without the slaves, the slave ownersShow MoreRelatedUnderground Railroad Essay Outline1333 Words   |  6 PagesTHE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD 1 The Underground Railroad Raymond Allen Setlock West Catholic High School THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD 2 Our country’s history had its good times and also its bad times. One of our bad times in our country’s history was the time when the United States allowed slavery toRead MoreThe Slavery Of African Americans1208 Words   |  5 Pages9 seasons, he was a running back, kick returner, and a punt returner. Since, I have talked about baseball and football I have to talk about basketball. 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