The Underground Railroad...in Kansas?

The Underground Railroad was a pathway built in 1787 for slaves because of the fact that their masters severely mistreated them, like not giving pay, or general abuse. The northern states were against slavery and the south was for slavery. Runaway slaves and abolitionists began a path from the south to the north to assist escaping slaves. This was The Underground Railroad.

The reason why it existed is so that escaping slaves could escape to the north, and possibly to Canada. The way slaves could tell if a house was safe for them was the people living in the safe house would place a quilt or a specific amount of lanterns in windows, then the slaves would go into the house and stay there for sometime with the owner, according to former slaves. Soon after some time, the owners of the house escort the slave to another safe house, usually by wagon, as going by foot was very risky - usually only done at night.

Kansas, was a participator in helping slaves escape. Many people would usually go through Kansas because Kansas would usually be the closest free state since most slaves would be coming from Texas, as the Kansapedia history site states.

An example from Kansas, found through the Kansas State Historical Society, tells the story of Ann Clark. One day she escaped from her master and went to a safehouse. The owner of the safehouse was unable to protect her though, so proslavery people returned Ann Clark and returned her back to her master for a prize. Ann Clark went back to washing dishes but later that day she saw another opportunity. The men were eating and Clark saw that only women were watching her. She ran out of the kitchen and into a ravine, she stood very still until morning in a bush

However, trying to escape to Canada as a slave is very hard. By law, even if a slave was in the north, if they were caught they would have to be returned to the south. That and there are bounty hunters. These people would make a living off of hunting escaping slaves. If they caught the slave, they would return the slave to it’s master for money. The slave, of course, faced severe punishment. Sometimes, you could be next to Canada’s border, but then be shot. Many times escaping slaves who were caught thought that escaping wasn’t even worth the journey. The Underground Railroad didn’t really start until you reached the north, so you would have to reach the north from the south with barely any help.