The Underground Railroad was not named as such at its inception. The routes were not marked nor were they traveled the same way each time. Many factors played a part in this; the most important being that it was a secret and undercover operation. The routes were not set in place, mostly because the masters would pursue the fleeing slaves.
[...] One time thirteen fugitives were stashed in the woodshed of a steamer headed to Canada from Chicago all while a United States Marshal and his deputies were on board.[3] Besides the very important waterways, pathways and roads that culturally came to be a means of getting from point A to point B were also important. Routes used by Native Americans, then farmers, which turned into populated roads in order to get to towns and cities from the countryside, were used as infrequently as possible but were at times, very valuable. [...]
[...] To recap, the shortest trails on the Underground Railroad were those that ended by crossing the Great Lakes from Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Pennsylvania, and finishing in Canada. But, the longest trails entailed leaving the deep southern states such as Georgia and the Carolinas and involved trekking all the way to the New England states before leaving the country. One major feature stood in the way causing a difficulty journey on this route. This was the Appalachian Mountain range, which served as a natural barrier and prevented those who might have been closer to Canada by way of the Great Lakes, from crossing them. [...]
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