Final answer:
The Underground Railroad helped enslaved people by c. securing their freedom from slavery, with abolitionists and sympathizers providing a covert network of routes and safe houses to escape to free states, Canada, or elsewhere.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Role of the Underground Railroad in Assisting Enslaved People
The Underground Railroad was a clandestine network of routes and safe houses that provided crucial assistance to enslaved people seeking freedom from bondage. It was not a literal railroad but a system of covert operations that involved secret routes, safe houses, and the efforts of abolitionists and sympathizers who were dedicated to the anti-slavery cause. The correct answer to the question “The underground railroad helped enslaved people by” is c. securing their freedom from slavery.
Participants in the Underground Railroad, such as Harriet Tubman and other abolitionists, took tremendous risks to conduct this resistance against slavery, especially after the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. They assisted freedom seekers to escape to Northern states, Canada, Mexico, or overseas by moving them from one “station” to the next, often utilizing codes from rail terminology to communicate stealthily. This elaborate network was instrumental in weakening the institution of slavery by helping an estimated 100,000 slaves gain their freedom by 1850.
The importance of the Underground Railroad cannot be overstated; it symbolized a significant form of resistance and provided a pathway to liberation for those enslaved, challenging the pro-slavery establishments of the time.