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| Many enslaved African Americans freed themselves from bondage whenever possible. Most runaways were young men; enslaved women generally stayed behind with their children. Courageous Americans who opposed slavery helped enslaved individuals reach freedom in the North, Mexico, Caribbean, and the Indian territories. Beginning in the early 19th century, a movement called the Underground Railroad helped enslaved people flee the South. Operating without formal organization, participants in the Underground Railroad included both white and black abolitionists, enslaved African Americans, American Indians, and members of such religious groups as the Quakers, Methodists, and the Baptists. |
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