Abstract
In this essay, I will be diving into detail about three topics that are not spoken of in our presentation. The first topic is the living conditions, daily routine, and torture that became a normal part of their life such as work from sunup to sundown. The second topic is debatably the most important, the one thing that help them keep going through all of the trials and tribulations that they faced while being considered and compared to cattle/animals but helped them somewhat keep their sanity, their religion and their culture that kept them together as one big family that looked out for one another and helped protect each other. And finally, the impact the Underground Railroad had. Throughout history, the underground railroad is one of the most famous topics when considering slavery. The underground railroad freed hundreds of slaves and was led by an American hero, Harriet Tubman.
Slaves had it hard when it comes to their living conditions. They had only the minimum of what they needed. They lived in cabins that didn’t have any furniture at all besides what they made or could get their hands on which wasn’t very much furniture if any at all. The cabins that they lived in were very dirty, crowded, and not suitable to live in. Slave masters didn’t care for slaves’ comfort, safety, or health. They also always kept the slaves under surveillance. Slaves who did work indoors had better living conditions than the ones that had to work outside in the fields. During the winters, slave masters would sometimes allow for the oven to be on while they sleep to keep them warm at night. Though the treacherous work continues in the morning with no breaks and very poor to no clothing to keep them warm while out in the fields. Their clothes were made of coarse homespun linen or what some call rough “Negro cloth.” The homespun linen was made especially for slaves. Each year slaves would receive two shirts, two pairs of pants one for the winter and the other for the other three seasons, and one jacket all made from the “Negro cloth.” They also received one pair of stockings and one pair of shoes. The only day slaves would have off is Sunday and during the other six days, they would work from sunup to sundown. When it comes to food, slaves had very little. They only were given leftovers that they had to share amongst themselves. Food that slaves were given included bread, collard greens, snap beans, potatoes, peas, a little bit of meat, molasses, and cornmeal. When slaves were sick or injured, doctors with limited medical knowledge were at their aid. Because they were given poor doctors with little medical knowledge, they most likely didn’t help slaves much. Many slaves never reached old age. Their life expectancy was around twenty to twenty-two years old. Slaves' bodies were weak and couldn’t fight off diseases because they didn’t get enough nutrients to fight off infections, diseases, and inflammations which normally keep a person out of commission for a few days and typically turned deadly for the average slave. When a slave tried to escape or rebel against the overseer/master the typical punishment was 39 lashes because 40 would kill a man, or in worst-case scenarios being hung from a tree. Though a few slaves did manage to escape by the underground railroad or by sheer luck by following the North star also known as Polaris to the north, they were free.
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Occasionally while the slaves were working out in the field they would sing songs that helped the time pass a little faster or to entertain themselves and to keep their spirits high while out in the fields, one song that they would sing was a coral snake and it starts as “ Coral snake Coral snake where are you hiding Coral snake coral snake don’t you dare bite me.” There were several more songs that they sang as they worked in fields but the overall name for them was “Slave songs” that were made and passed down from generation to generation, from parent to child. These songs “slaves’ songs” are very important to history because most of them would hide a deeper meaning in them.
The religion of slaves depends on where they were taken. While some of them kept the original religion, others mixed the religion of their masters into their own. A few slaves converted to Christianity. In the new world, many of the people were Catholics or protestants. The catholic church let African slaves join their church with little to no problems. On the other hand, the protestant church had way more rules and instructions for African slaves to be a part of their church. Slaves took their religion seriously, they would pray to their god for freedom.
“The Underground Railroad was a network of people, African American as well as white, offering shelter and aid to escaped slaves from the South.” The establishment date of the underground railroad is unknown, but it was first mentioned in 1831 when the owner of Tice Davis blamed the underground railroad for his escape to freedom. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 made it even harder for slaves to escape to freedom. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 “allowed local governments to apprehend and extradite escaped slaves from within the borders of the free states back to their point of origin, and to punish anyone helping the fugitives.” The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was put into place afterward to strengthen The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793. Instead of slaves going to the free states in the north, they made their way to Canada. For any slave caught or any person helping slaves escape, the punishment was much harsher and cruel. Slaves that escaped to Canada were offered freedom and a better life. They could “live where they wanted, sit on juries, run for public office, and more.” Runaway slaves had conductors to guide them along their journey. A few of the places runaway slaves would hide in were schools, churches, and private homes. They would call these places stations, safe houses, and deports. The people in charge of each station were called station masters. The most famous conductor of the Underground Railroad was Harriet Tubman. When she was born her name was originally Araminta Ross, but she changed her name to Harriet and Tubman was her married name. When Harriet Tubman first escaped, she made her way to Pennsylvania. She then returned to take more of her family and friends to freedom. Since then Harriet Tubman joined the Underground Railroad and led more slaves to freedom. Frederick Douglass was also a part of the Underground Railroad. He hid slaves in his home in Rochester, New York. He helped around 400 slaves escape to Canada.
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