Daring, Ascendant, Powerful, Dominant, And Influential. Same importance yet one and only individual appear in my mind when I see these five capable words; She got away servitude, guided many slaves to opportunity, was and still is an understood Civil Rights activists, turned into a main abolitionist, dealt with elderly individuals, and originator of the Underground Railroad: Harriet Tubman…
Civil war in America was inevitable from the beginning. A country can not partake in slavery without an uproar. Tensions were high between the north and the south already because of their different ways of life. The north focused on mass production whereas the south’s biggest trade was agriculture. Slavery allowed the south to prosper, their whole economy was based off of it. Though change was inevitable two documents that sped up the war process were the Fugitive Slave Act and Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin.…
Harriet Tubman (Araminta Harriet Ross), also known as “Moses” of her time, was a phenomenal African-American abolitionist who broke seemingly impeccable odds and escaped the south from slavery, in the year of 1849. She would become well-known for her aggressive tactics in conducting many slaves to freedom during what is known today as, the American Civil War Era. Her ambitious attitude and robust air left many in awe as she led more than nineteen missions to rescue more than 300 slaves using the Underground Railroad (a system of antislavery protesters and safe houses).…
Mary Prince lived in a time of great social upheaval. Members of the Anti-Slavery Society were vying to inform the public of the atrocities of slavery. Pringle the secretary of the Anti-Slavery Society says in The History of Mary Prince supplement “whatever opinions may be held by some readers on the grave question of immediately abolishing Colonial Slavery, nothing assuredly can be more repugnant to the feelings of Englishmen than that the system should be permitted to extend its baneful influence to this country” alluding that the people of England do not want to be associated with the besmirching trade of slavery (59). At the start however, Englishmen did not know what was going on in the colonies which is why narratives like The History of Mary Prince were used to draw in a sympathetic public “as a consequence, the slave interests were immediately thrown on the defensive before a public that was shocked—shocked! —to discover what had been taking place under its nose for more than a century” (Lazare 23) The different narratives that tried to draw light upon the realities of the slave trade did more than just inform, they also called out those who were knowingly using this system for their gain.…
The abolitionist movement arose around the early 1830’s. The abolitionist movement dealt with the idea that all men should have equal freedoms. Women also liked the idea of having the same freedoms that the men had. The abolitionist movement became a popular political issue for women. Women became involved by voicing their political opinions in the public sphere.…
Did you know Harriet Tubman escaped slavery 19 times without getting caught? Harriet (whose real name was Araminta Ross) escaped slavery so she can be an abolitionist before the American Civil War. Harriet was not just known for rescuing slaves either. She was also a nurse in the Union army, a cook, scout, and a spy.…
PBS describes the underground railroad, or freedom train as "a complex network of places and people that lead runaway slaves from captivity". Many individuals of varying racial backgrounds provided food and shelter for the runaway slaves. These brave people were known as "conductors". While the underground railroad had many conductors, perhaps the most well-known and influential was African-American woman Harriet Tubman, who used her diverse culture not as a crutch, but as an instrument of leadership. Throughout her life, this inspirational woman challenged stereotypes of race, gender, and social class.…
The invention of the mechanical cotton gin by Eli Whitney in 1793 revolutionized the production of cotton. With the ability to pick and clean cotton faster, plantation owners had to plant more cotton plants to produce more and keep up with demand, thus this created a need for more slaves to not only plant and harvest the larger crops but help in other duties on the plantation. By 1860, the explosion of slavery in the United States amounted to approximately four million slaves. The Southern States, also known as the Confederacy, believed that slavery was necessary and defended slavery. The Northern States, also known as the Union, believed that slavery was morally wrong and should be abolished.…
Net, New York History. The Life of Harriet Tubman. 1996. www.nyhistory.com/harriettubman/life.htm (accessed November 26, 2011).…
The “Constitution of the Baptist Anti-Slavery Society,” formed on December 12, 1839, is a document that gives theological rationale for the organization of this Christian abolitionist society, and more generally for why Christians—particularly Baptists—need to be involved in the abolitionist movement to end slavery. The Constitution is composed of three central parts: 1) an opening statement on the urgent need for the immediate abolition of slavery; 2) nine articles that organizes the practices, structure, and officers of the Society; 3) an address to the Baptist churches of Providence that more fully explains the need and logic of the Society’s purpose.…
In my American History classes I have always found the topic of slavery interesting because in my head and the way I was raised, the idea of slavery is unfathomable and I cannot believe it had ever been an issue. Through this topic I heard about Harriet Tubman the creator of the Underground Railroad. Harriet Tubman was born into slavery in 1820 and escaped slavery in 1849. I admire Harriet Tubman because when she was free, she chose to risk here freedom in order to help her family and friends. It is a character like Harriet Tubman’s that makes a good leader. She was able to set up a network of safe houses and rescue hundreds from slavery. The fact that Harriet Tubman had the courage to risk her freedom in order to save others is hard to believe because during her time as a slave she had endure so much physical violence; one time she had been struck in the head by a two-pound weight which caused her to endure seizures, severe headaches and narcoleptic episodes for the rest of her life.…
Imagine a world where slaves were beat, whipped, and put into hard labor, just because of their race. Well Harriet Beecher Stowe was a great abolitionist and actually stopped slavery just by writing a book. Interesting facts about Harriet are that her mother and father (Roxana Beecher and Lyman Beecher) had eleven children, Harriet's father was "a leading Congregationalist minister and the patriarch of a family committed to social justice." "Stowe achieved national fame for her anti-slavery novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin, which fanned the flames of sectionalism before the Civil War. Stowe died in Hartford, Connecticut, on July 1, 1896." biography.com "Her brother was the famous Congregational preacher Henry Ward Beecher." shmoop.com…
History records Abraham Lincoln as the Great Emancipator, yet ardent abolitionists of his day such as William Lloyd Garrison viewed him with deep suspicion. That the 16th president eventually achieved the abolitionists' most cherished dream, says biographer Allen Guelzo, happened through a curious combination of political maneuvering, personal conviction, and commitment to constitutional principle.…
A strong and powerful lady said these wise words: “There was one of two things I had a right to, liberty or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other; for no man should take me alive; I should fight for my liberty as long as my strength lasted, and when the time came for me to go, the Lord would let them take me”. The brave women who said these words were Harriet Tubman and she was one of the leaders of the Underground Railroad that helped slaves reach freedom. “Although not an actual railroad of steel rails, locomotives and steam engines, the Underground Railroad was real nevertheless” (encyclopedia The Civil War and African Americans 329) The term “Underground Railroad” referred to the network of safe houses, transportation and the many very kind hearted people who risked their own lives to help the slaves escape from the Southern States to freedom. Many different kinds of transportation were actually used. Sometimes the slaves would travel by foot or they could be hidden on boats, or hide in wagons or carts carrying vegetables or other goods The runaway slaves became known as “passengers”, and the route traveled was the “line” while people who helped out along the way were called the “agents”. Leaders like Harriet Tubman who would travel with the slaves that were escaping, were called “conductors”.…
In Learning to Read and Write by Frederick Douglass he explains the word abolition. He explains ways he learned what it meant. Douglass was good listener, this was the way he learned what abolitionists was. He explains in paragraph 7 "I was eager to hear anyone speak of slavery. I was a ready listener... I could hear something about abolitionist. It was some time before I found out what the word meant." Although he heard it very often he was still confused about the full meaning. Douglass didn’t want to ask anyone what the meaning was. He stated "it was something they wanted me to know very little about." After awhile Douglass was able to get city papers that contain petitions from the north for the abolition of slavery. This is when he fully…