The Underground Railroad was a secret transportation guide used for slaves to get to freedom from the southern states to either the northern states to Canada ( The Promise Land). The U.R was a turning point in America , being the one thing that was hope to getting slaves the freedom they needed. In the end, T.U.R was something that either helped slavery or made it much worse.

Negative Effects

The more slaves started to escape the more, that the slave owners in the south wanted to keep their slaves. The south relied on slaves to help grow and pick cotton, which helped the south's economy increase. So when the slaves owners found out that their "lifestyle" wasn't being protected, a law called the "Fugitive Slave Act of 1793" was created. The la ensured that slaves that escaped to the north, could be returned back to it's original slave owner, if found. While many original slaves were being returned back to the south, free blacks, who have never been a slave in their life, could be sold as a slave. When the slaves returned back to their slave owners they were brutally tortured, or even killed. On the flip side, if a slave came to the north and wasn't brought back to the south, it was very hard to get a job, because most slaves couldn't read or write and mostly knew Agriculture.

Positive Effects

The life of a slave consist of hopelessness, torture, and emptiness, so the Underground Railroad was the only hope left for slaves. The Underground Railroad managed to get at least 1,000 escaped slaves a year. Around that time there were Abolitionist speaking about ending slavery, and soon America was divided. Abolitionist and the White slave owners fought often, leading to the civil war. There were many influencers that helped with the Underground Railroad such as Harriet Tubman, going back to the south several times fearlessly and saving hundreds of slaves and never losing one.

The Underground was a start to ending slavery, it didn't end it. It also made the south even more slave involved, and wanting slavery to never go away.

Although these bad things happened, many slaves at least got a feeling of what freedom tasted like, and even might've gave some slaves the courage to escape again, like Frederick Douglass. The Underground Railroad might've had negative things and positive things occur, but in the end it was a start to the abolishment of slavery.