Escape from Slavery , The Underground Railroad, is about a man named, Charles L. Blockson, who was only ten when his grandfather told him about the escape from slavery. Charles 's great grandfather was a slave in Delaware, but escaped to Canada as a teenager. Charles 's grandfather 's cousin, also was able to escape to St. Catherine 's, Ontario, in 1858. The runaway slaves would sometimes call Canada the Promise Land. The under ground railroad was not an actual railroad. It was, "a network of paths through the woods and fields, river crossings, boat and ships, trains and wagons." This story makes me think of all the times people have been trying to fight for equal rights, and all the current events with politics. Why is it called the
In the beginning of the novel, The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead, Mabel is constantly represented as an awful mother when described by her daughter, Cora. Mabel spends her whole life on the Randall Plantation before one day running away, leaving Cora behind. Cora perceives this as an act of selfishness and is furious that Mabel didn’t say goodbye. Cora thought “it was incomprehensible that Mabel had abandoned her to that hell” (Whitehead 98). If the plantation was bad enough for Mabel to leave, it must be just as bad for Cora
Although the Underground Railroad was not a real railroad, it had many brave conductors and stationmasters that helped free many slaves. Three of these honorable individuals were Thomas Garrett, William Still, and Harriet Tubman. Although slavery would have ended without their contributions to the Abolitionist community, they helped jump start the freeing of slaves before
Gateway to Freedom: The Hidden History of the Underground Railroad by Eric Foner. He was the DeWitt Clinton Professor of history at Columbia University, is one of the country’s prominent historian. Foner received his doctoral degree from Columbia University. This book focuses on abolitionism. For example, the organization the New York City American Anti-Slavery Society, they wanted to get rid of slavery without physically harming the slaves, to get rid of prejudice towards the slaves and any unequal laws against them.
Another major figure in the Underground Railroad was Thomas Garrett. Born unto a Quaker family who his runaway slaves in Delaware, Garrett was exposed to opposition at an early age. After saving the life of an African American slave who was kidnapped by slave traders, Garrett became dedicated to the abolitionist cause in 1813. He was on record saying, “Friend, I haven't a dollar in the world; but if thee knows a fugitive who needs a breakfast send him to me”. He turned his home in Wilmington, Delaware into the last stop for the Underground Railroad before slaves reached Pennsylvania where they got their freedom.
Reading the book, The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead depict the life of Cora as she travels on the underground railroad. On her travels the trains make certain stops or should I say certain states like South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, etc. These states represent or symbolize the problems slaves had to face while trying to pursue freedom on the Underground Railroad. These problems can range from being whipped to death, or the master having unconsent sex with the male slave’s wife. Reading these chapters in this novel helped shaped on how slaves told about their life problems in a narrative way
Underground Railroad Many slaves try to escape to their freedom, but not by just running away, they had help from the underground railroad. The Underground Railroad consist of terms like conductors, stations, lines, and cargo. The conductors were the people who helped and provided the slaves safe passages while traveling the underground railroad. There were multiple conductors in the underground railroad like William Still who helped Harriet Tubman when she was a fugitive , John Parker he worked through the busiest parts of the railroad that transported slaves through the ohio river, Reverend John Rankin worked with John parker, but the fugitive slave that is most famous for the underground railroad is Harriet Tubman.
The Abolitionists were people that were against slavery, and the group was dedicated to the cause of getting rid of it. Most of abolitionists were from the North, and the Abolitionist movement started in the 1830s. The Underground Railroad is the most thought of when we think of the Abolitionist Movement. The Underground Railrod helped fugitive slaves from the south, get to the North. Most of the slaves that went through this process made it to their destination, and became free African Americans like they had wanted to be.
The Transcontinental Railroad The completion of the first Transcontinental Railroad was an important event in the United States history. There were many challenges in building it, but after it was finished, it connected the East Coast of the United States to the West Coast. The railroad took three whole years to build, with the help of two railroad companies and thousands of other hired workers.
Douglass’s influence for the Underground Railroad also reflected in his book and newspaper. For example, he pointed out his position against the revealing of Underground Railroad clearly in his Narrative book, which published in 1845. He said, “ I, however, can see very little good resulting from such a course [revealing the secret of the Underground Railroad system], either to themselves or the slaves escaping; while, upon the other hand, I see and feel assured that those open declarations are a positive evil to the slaves remaining, who are seeking to escape”. (7, 87). Keeping the conductors in dark protected both the agents and the slaves, and Douglass was very serious about it.
Although it broke the law, and countered the ancient principle that slaves were considered property, the Underground Railroad was a morally justified response to the institution of slavery, considering it was an inhumane institution. As well as being inhumane, the institution violated the Declaration of Independence, by denying the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, while also defying the idea of divine right from the Bible. Due to the overall institution of slavery being immoral and inhumane, the Underground Railroad was a justified response to this problematic issue. Despite the Railroad having some illegal aspects, the overall institution of slavery defied the Declaration of Independence, justifying the actions of the
The Fugitive Slave Act was passed by the House of Representatives on February 4, 1793 by a vote of 48–7 with 14 abstaining. Eight days later, the Act was approved by Congress. Although the Article four of the U.S. Constitution granted the slave masters the rights to recapture slaves who fled to free states, “the Fugitive Slave Law included new and harsher provisions mandating the participation of northern states and individuals in the recapture process and curtailing the rights of alleged fugitives to prove they were not runaways” (Kazin 492). Many, either white or black, reacted to this Act, especially in the North. Some states even passed personal-liberty laws to allow fugitive slaves to appeal their case in a court.
The underground railroad was something many slaves used to escape to freedom, and there were a lot of ways that they would travel around. Wickham
These conductors guided these fugitive slaves to escape from their enslavement in order to be free as part of the “underground railroad”. Among these conductors is the notable Harriet Tubman, a former slave who led three hundred slaves to safety in the North (McGill, 2005). Besides assisting these fugitives in escapement, other efforts included housing these slaves, recapturing them from authorities, and providing resources for the fugitives to settle in once freed. To further illustrate the metaphor of the underground railroad umbrella, “the homes and businesses where fugitives would rest and eat were called "stations" and "depots" and were run by "stationmasters," those who contributed money or goods were "stockholders," and the "conductor" was responsible for moving fugitives from one station to the next” (“The Underground Railroad”, n.d.). This network of systems continued on and as it became more widespread and more known about, the underground railroad found success in bringing the issue of slavery “to the forefront of public consciousness and convinced a substantial and growing segment of the northern population that the South’s peculiar institution was morally wrong and potentially dangerous to the American way of life” (Devine, 2011).
Literature is often credited with the ability to enhance one’s understanding of history by providing a view of a former conflict. In doing so, the reader is able to gain both an emotional and logistical understanding of a historically significant event. Additionally, literature provides context that can help the reader develop a deeper understanding of the political climate of a time period. Within the text of The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead’s, the use of literary elements such as imagery, metaphor, and paradox amplifies the reader’s understanding of early 19th century slavery and its role in the South of the United States of America. Throughout the novel, Whitehead utilizes a girl named Cora to navigate the political and personal consequences of escaping slavery, the Underground Railroad, and her transition
The novel The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead is full of ahistorical elements. In a book about slavery in America, his use of ahistorical elements results in a commentary on racial discrimination and abuse in a unique, narrative way. He portrays every state differently, using each of them as an example of a different type of discrimination. South Carolina is represented as a “progressive” and modern state, with new and innovative ideas on how to treat slaves. It even has the Griffin Building to represent its modernism, even though that wasn 't built historically until 1910.