Almost all slaves were born in the New World; with the end of the Atlantic slave trade, the diasporic population lost all contact with their indigenous culture. Although some individuals could afford comfortable living conditions, most free blacks and slaves still suffered from deplorable conditions resulting from a lack of education, wealth, and political privilege. To improve conditions, free blacks decided to lift the barricades that prevented them from obtaining a formal education and the right to enfranchisement; meanwhile, slaves continued to strengthen their community practices through religion and escape the terrible conditions by fleeing to northern states via the Underground Railroad.