The Gateway To Freedom Analysis

Flags burning under raining bombs, gunshots echoing through a field of raining terror, while hiding underground for the day where humanity can roam free again; situations as so aren’t exactly what people imagine when thinking about one’s future. Every death was honored by those who lived; lives lost during wars of any kind are unlike lives lost in our country today, not for the value of those once living are greater than another, but from how much those lives mean to this day. Establishment and preservation of freedom wasn’t easy and will never be easy; many people served until their last breath, for the freedoms of our lives today. That is why we must continue to grasp for freedom, and to establish and preserve our freedom most effectively we must have the heart to be free, and have united dedication to freedom itself.

In the revolutionary document “Stride Toward Freedom” written by Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) shows his ways of dealing with oppression and how to go about protesting, While the “Protect ourselves” interview with Malcolm X shows us the same things and they have their similarities but are indeed different. The three ways MLK thinks people deal with oppression is acquiescence, physical violence, and nonviolence, While Malcolm felt as if violence was right at least when you’re defending yourself. MLK and Malcolm both have the same goal but have a small shift in the way they think they have to get to that goal, And from an outside view I believe both their thoughts and methods are right. This quote shows that perfectly “Seeks to reconcile the truths of two opposites” This meaning it's finding the truth and the best about two things that are completely opposite and making them one like combining violence and and peace together.

Abolitionists helped slaves in their attempts to become free people. They helped to find homes for the slaves to hide in and were also active in many states (The Freedom Sympathizers and Fighters).

As African Americans gained civil rights, a new generation, eager to break away from past horrors, emerged while others remained chained to the specter of past inequality and poverty. The story scrutinizes the intense tensions and trains that were created as these two conflicting worlds came together.

The Underground Railroad is not like the railroads that we see today, they were not made of box cars and rails. They were routes that the slaves took to get to freedom, these railways were built or used in late 1786 to 1865. They went from as far west as Kansas, and Texas and as far south as Florida, they all were made to go north to Canada, or to Mexico, or the Caribbean Islands where slavery is illegal. This was an impossible task for the slaves to do on their own. There were many factors on how they found their way and the people who helped them on their journey, which I will discuss later throughout this paper. There over 3000 people who helped the runaway slaves to freedom. (The Underground Railroad).

Slavery is a disappointing example of inhuman behavior, a dark past in our history books. Two stories demonstrate the cruelty of slavery while living on a plantation. Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the underground railroad and “The People Could Fly” give two different encounters on the topic of slavery. Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the underground railroad is a biography and “The People Could Fly” is a historical fiction. Both would make one wonder, what is there to live for when freedom does not exist in your life? The two different genres of books are able to give readers an understanding of how heart-wrenching and depressing life of a slave was. Both show the family of slaves taking care of one another. They show the fatherhood even though the slaves are going through harsh conditions, the way the story is told and what kind of story it is, and the secret language that the slaves have.

The abolitionist movement in the 19th Century is a great of example of people standing up against terrifying odds to help others. During this movement in the 19th Century many people worked hard to abolish slavery in the United States. Some protested, some argued, and some ever chose to take action to free and assist freeing slaves in the South (Garcia, 442). Those who took action were a part of the Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad was a network of secret routes and safe houses set to help guide slaves escaping to the North and eventually Canada when the Fugitive Slave Act was published (the Fugitive Slave Act gave slave owners and other people the right to return slaves to the southern plantations and farms (Garcia, 422). Almost all the time slaves were treated brutally being beaten, fed little, and living in very harsh, bleak, and even sometimes austere living conditions (Garcia, 422). Those who were caught while in the act of escaping could usually be hanged, killed, or tortured (Garcia, 422). Those in the North, the abolitionists, and conductors of the underground railroad such as Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglas all fought for the abolishment of slavery (Garcia, 422). The conductors of the Underground Railroad, freed slaves from their workplaces and led them North using the Underground Railroad under guidance of the

Since the beginning of A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, the protagonist of the novel Ishmael endeavors to flee from the hardships enkindled by the RUF rebel organization that has amalgamated the country of Sierra Leone, officially making it a war zone. Moreover, for more than two years Ishmael has attempted to escape from the rebels, moving from village to village, rummaging through abandoned homes. Seemingly, the rebels would make their way to Ishmael, sweeping all villages. Deprived of food or any sign of hope surviving as a “lone wolf”, Ishmael enlisted in the Army of Sierra Leone to fight against the radical organization. Ishmael risked his life for the prime purpose of surviving and to pursue freedom. Furthermore, self-determination was one of the reasons for such bravery, but it was also due to specific objects that aided in Ishmael’s journey for freedom. Nonetheless, in his literary work, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, Ishmael Beah uses symbols to underscore his central theme of oppression and/or freedom. The most evident symbols that accentuate the theme of oppression and/or freedom are the moon, the rap cassette tape, and the AK-47.

Eric Foner, the author of Gateway to Freedom, detailed countless stories of the underground movement that took place in settlements such as New York City. Foner established himself as a reputable source in the abolitionist movement due to numerous discoveries and works produced such as Nothing But Freedom. The monograph primarily focused on abolition movements during the 1800’s and committees formed in order to rally against slavery. Foner portrayed anti-slavery groups and individuals as a crucial factor to the Underground Railroad; which sparked many agencies such as “The Committee of Thirteen to assist fugitive slaves” (Foner, 2015, 128).

There were many states up north that would aid in providing housing and fresh starts for the African American-escaped slaves. Indiana, for example, has “claimed to have a ‘station’ in every town affiliated with the Underground Railroad (Cox, 18). On the other hand, in Ripley, Ohio, “a town that was ‘pro-slavery,’” a man by the name of John Parker states that the Underground Railroad had a vast amount of slaves being smuggled in and out of this Northern town (Kammen, 4). The fact that there were “slavery-active” towns smuggling African-American slaves beneath their masters’ feet seems incredibly risky and brave of those poor souls destined to obtain freedom.

The Underground Railroad was an innovated organization whose main goal was to free slaves. This amazing system was founded in the 18th century, by a man names Levi Coffin. It used as an escape for any slaves in the South. . The courageous people within the organization help to shape a new America. The course of this organization ultimately changed the course of American history. This legendary organization was known for many things, but in retrospect it help spark the civil war. To have a full understanding of it’s massive affects of American culture, one must start at its beginnings. Understanding the stories and it people that helped millions to gain America most prized passion, freedom.

The clanging of chains, the quiet trekking of fugitives through swamps and forest, the kind hands of strange friends, the disguises, the whizzing of bullets through trees and brush, the long winding “train tracks” that pierced the border of states and morality, and the dark complexion of the most courageous men and women that defied law. It was these that carved the crack in the concrete wall of slavery and formed the Underground Railroad. Obtaining an understanding of the Underground Railroad can be key to a sense of pride in our country and its stride at overcoming the prevailing issue of ethnic discrimination.

The power or right to act, speak or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. A word created by man to escape the bonds of tyranny to express the idea of what it means to persist one's own ambitions. Freedom. Freedom is not the absence of confinement but the will to achieve freedom when imprisoned. After carefully concluding the reading done over this semester one is able to clearly understand the confinement these early Americans felt and their decision to achieve a form of freedom. Freedom has always existed but it is the history of this nation that will define what actions freedom takes.

Bound for Canaan: The Epic Story of the Underground Railroad, America’s First Civil Rights Movement by Fergus M. Bordewich is an inspiring piece of literature that tackles on information about the underground railroad, and many other aspects we’ve never known about at that point in time. The book is written by Fergus Bordewich, born on November 1, 1947 in New York City, New York.Fergus graduated from Columbia University and now lives with his wife Jean P. Bordewich in San Francisco as one of the best historians in the world. He is the author of many historical fictions such as The First Congress: How James Madison, George Washington, and a Group of Extraordinary Men Invented the Government, America’s Great Debate: Henry Clay, Stephen A. Douglas, and the Compromise that Preserve the Union, and many more. As you can see, he’s been changing perspectives on many historical topics for quite some time.

Many ideas are important within the American culture, but to the American sense of patriotism, freedom is most fundamental. The idea of freedom is central to the American politics – which is at times referred to as liberty. Since the birth of the nation, freedom has been the vocabulary of the American language and its importance cannot be underestimated. The Declaration of Independence, for instance, ranks liberty as an inalienable right. On the other hand, the Constitution reckons that it purposes to protect civilians’ liberty. The importance of freedom has even stretched further than the political arena and has prompted the birth of civil rights movements and other activist protests. The Cold War and the Civil War were all for the cause of freedom. The importance that Americans attach to freedom can also be demonstrated from the erection of statues, banishment of slavery, use of liberty poles and a right to vote for adults. For many years, women and the African Americans have for a long time fought against denial and infringement of their freedom . However, given the importance that Americans affiliate to freedom in the conceptualization of their country, it has been the subject of modifications over the course of years especially before the Revolutionary War.