Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad

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Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad “I freed thousands of slaves, and could have freed thousands more, if they had known they were slaves.” (History.com) This Harriet Tubman quote is a great representation of the kind of person she was. Harriet Tubman was a great woman, not only did she escape slavery; she went back several times to save more people. She conducted the Underground Railroad and did great things that have changed our history in one of its darkest times in our history. Being a slave was not easy but that didn’t stop her. Becoming a slave was terrible; someone was either born a slave or kidnapped. When slavery first started, white Europeans went into Africa and kidnapped African Americans. As the years went on this process became too difficult for the Europeans, so they established hundred of trading station along Africa’s West Coast. Local African rulers and black merchants delivered the captured people to the posts and them sell as slaves. Slaves were then transported to the Americas on a journey called the middle passage which lasted about six weeks. These ships were very unsanitary and cramped often carrying three hundred slaves. Once onboard the ship, men and women were stripped naked and shackled two-by-two. They could either be packed loosely or tight. Either way the ship had terrible hygiene, often nowhere to go to the bathroom. Also the slaves were hardly given any food, so many of the slaves went hungry. These factors contributed to many suicide attempts while onboard. After a slave got off the ship, the binding began. Families would be split up most likely never to see each other ever again. A captain would do everything he could to improve the price of the slaves. He would increase their food an... ... middle of paper ... ...or the slaves. It gave them the idea of another life, free. It pushed not only slaves but white men for another way of life, an equal one. It helped shape our society to what it is today, even if it took over a hundred years. In a hundred years we, as a country went from having slaves, to having segregation, and now everyone gets along and is equal. Sure we still have racism, but we changed a lot. If we never had the Underground Railroad, we might have never got the ball rolling. “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the word” (brainyquote.com). This quote by Harriet Tubman sums up how the Underground Railroad and Harriet Tubman worked. Tubman conducted the Underground Railroad and did many great things even in one of our darkest times in history.

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