Follow The Drinking Gourd: Poem Analysis

Harriet decided to escape from slavery with the help of abolitionists in Philadelphia, after she escaped, she helped her sister and her children escape from slavery.(Vox, "How did Harriet Tubman find the courage to lead the Underground Railroad?")Harriet was inducted to the Underground Railroad afterwards, the Philadelphians abolitionists gave Harriet details about the routes they use and swearing her to secrecy.(Vox, "How did Harriet Tubman find the courage to lead the Underground Railroad?")Soon after she began to conduct on the Underground Railroad helping slaves escape from slavery and become free.

The Underground Railroad not only benefited slaves, but helped society in numerous ways. The Underground Railroad was a system abolitionists used to help slaves escape to the North. It reunited families who were separated by slavery and made life better for the slaves that were able to escape safely, like Harriet Tubman. People from different backgrounds, races, and religions were involved in the escapes. The Underground Railroad was very dangerous, for slaves and the abolitionists who helped them. The Railroad’s impact

Slavery in America began when the first bunch of African slaves were brought to North America in 1619. They settled in Jamestown, Virginia to assist in the production of economy enhancing crops. Initially, the concept of this form of slavery was servitude, slaves were either sent back to Africa or allowed to own land. Europeans recommenced quests to Africa in search of gold. This is when they

Slavery began in the late 16th century to early 18th century. Africans were brought to American colonies by white masters to come and work on their plantations in the South. They were treated harshly with no payments for all their hard work. In addition, they lived under harsh living conditions, and this led to their resistance against these harsh conditions. The racism towards the African Americans who were slaves was at its extreme as they did not have any rights; no civil nor political rights.

Though slavery was a controversial topic of the 19th century, many people thought that slavery was necessary because they raised crops and maintained houses for their owners for free, but many people thought that this was inhumane so they contributed to something called the Underground Railroad, which a woman named Harriet Tubman contributed to the Underground Railroad by providing safe routes for slaves coming to the North, but this lead to the Civil War which was abolitionist vs. pro-slavery. Slavery started in 1619 in the first English settlement of Jamestown. Between 1502 and 1866, of the 11.2 million Africans, only 450,000 arrived in the United States, while the rest arrived in Latin America and the Caribbean. These slaves were brought as early as the 16th and 17th centuries. A number of slaves in the south in 1860 was about 2.3 million and this was during the end of the Underground Railroad.

Slavery was practiced many different ways through the New England, Mid-Atlantic, and Southern colonies. Slaves were mistreated by their masters and was treated as property and not people. Slaves had to work in very bad weather conditions and had to work even when they were sick. Many times families were split up because slaves were bought for specific skills and not always bought together. In many cases families were never reunited.

Harriet Tubman was an Underground Railroad conductor that helped free many slaves and helped with the civil war. In 1894 Harriet choose to escape slavery. She used the Underground Railroad to reach freedom in Pennsylvania and escape slavery. Harriet soon became a conductor for the Underground Railroad. In 1850 the Fugitive Slave Act was passed, so in order to be free slaves would have to escape to Canada. Harriet wanted to help others, including her family, to safety in Canada. Harriet became known for helping slaves escape slavery. She helped about three hundred slaves escape and led nineteen different escapes from the south. Harriet's bravery did not stop with the Underground Railroad. She helped on a military campaign that led to rescue

Harriet Tubman was not going to accept her “fate” and just let the slave owners own her, so she came up with a plan to escape. Harriet Tubman successfully escaped slavery, but that was not enough for her. Using the Underground Railroad Harriet Tubman helped hundreds of

“Harriet Tubman - PBS” states that Harriet Tubman made many trips “During a ten-year span she made 19 trips into the South and escorted over 300 slaves to freedom”. Harriet freed slaves by sneaking them through the underground railroad. This was very brave of her and her actions were very important in the change of civil rights. Her and many others changed the lives of african americans. Harriet was a slave herself as stated in “Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad” “She could not, for example, have said how or at what moment she learned that she was a slave” (Petry). Personal experience is what drove Harriet to help others. She knew slavery wasn’t right and she had the boldness of taking the situation in her own hands. In order to help slaves escape, she had to stay in hiding “She devised clever techniques that helped make her "forays" successful” (Harriet Tubman, Petry). For how quiet and in hiding she was, Harriet still managed to make a big difference. This is why she is so important. Bravery is key to making a change and Harriet Tubman was very

Before she went, she saved up money and planned the route ahead of time. They traveled during the winter when it was cold and most people would be inside. Using the North star as a guide, and the sun and moon to tell time, she began leading hundreds of escapes through hidden routes, which we know today as “The Underground Railroad.” She was also able to use natural herbs and roots for people who got sick along the way. Because of her fearless and strong leadership, Harriet Tubman was able to lead many slaves toward the route to freedom. Overall, there are 19 recorded successful trips that Harriet made to the South. Without Tubman, the underground railroad may have not succeeded like it did. Rewards for the capture of Harriet Tubman eventually totaled up to $40,000.

Slavery was a horrific action that took place for hundreds of years., The Underground Railroad was a way to escape this atrocity. The Underground Railroad was not an actual railroad that was underground, but instead a system of homes and places that would house runaway slaves and help them to escape to the North. The Underground Railroad was a dangerous thing, but had the great reward of, freedom for slaves, if theyyou successfully completed the challenge. It took great courage and bravery to take the chance to run away and become free. Many people would try to harm the runaways and would do anything to send them back to the slavery they wanted to escape from. Even with all these challenges the slaves found it worth the risk for the freedom, and many have told their stories of hardships and hope of freedom.

Harriet Tubman once spoke, “I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person; now, I was free. There was such a glory over everything. I felt like I was in heaven.” Harriet Tubman was born a slave in Maryland; she escaped slavery. “She led hundreds of enslaved people to freedom along the route of the Underground Railroad.” (Biography) The Underground Railroad was not a railroad located under the ground. “The Underground Railroad was the term used to describe a network of persons who helped escaped slaves on their way to freedom in the northern states or Canada.” (Networks)

The Underground Railroad was arranged to help the slaves escape north to have the freedom. Harriet Tubman was famous in African-American History, she was known as the leader controlling the idea of the Underground Railroad. She helped 300 slaves escape from the south to the north. Her birth date is unknown because slaves were not allowed to record their birth date. She worked as a nurse and a spy for the northern army. According to the secret history of the Underground Railroad magazine, it states that the railroad was not hidden, and a group of people made a little secret about runaways. The reason why they wanted to escape was that they had bad living conditions and they were forced to work although they did not get paid.

Slaves did not have maps or gps to guide them to the freedom. Freedom for them was making it to New York. Many of the slaves wanted to go as far as upstate New York and Canada. Every slaves dream was making it to the North because in the North slavery was abolished. Most of them did not attend school to have knowledge of which way the north was. Most slaves tried to leave and escape but was often caught by their masters and was beaten or worse - killed. So Older slaves came up with a way to help other slaves make it out and know which way to go. They came up with a song called Follow the Drinking Gourd. The song was created by a man who was the conductor of the Underground Railroad named Peg Leg Joe.

The Underground Railroad helped a multitude of slaves secretly escape to freedom in the North. It is not actually a railroad and not underground. Slaves used several modes of transportation including trains, wagons, and a large portion of the journeys were on foot. Fugitive slaves faced tons of dangers, such as pain, hunger, and environmental troubles.