8. Smuggling For Freedom
It is believed that in the late 1850s, the Underground Railroad may have assisted as many as 100,000 slaves to freedom. And this wasn’t easy since, under the Fugitive Act of 1793, free states were legally required to help in the recapture of absconding slaves. This became more stringent in 1850 that gave a wide-reaching immunity to slave-catchers. As a result, more slaves were being captured during their escape. And what happened to them later was even crueler.