A Runaway's Life - The Underground Railroad ; A Road to Freedom ~

Life may seem perfect, but it's not.There's freedom in the world. There are laws and governments that protect the people. Long ago, people didn't have these things. Throughout America, many people had suffered. One group of people that suffered were African Americans. They were helped by many life changers.

Around 1600, Africans began to be shipped to North America as slaves. Slaves did most of the work where they lived. Most of them worked in mines or on plantations, while some became servants. Some people thought that slavery was wrong, while the majority of people thought that slavery was acceptable. Few slaves could marry, have a family, testify in court, or own property legally. Some slaves were able to make money to free themselves.

African Americans were slaves. They were sold and owned by wealthy people. Slavery was the state of being under the control of another person. Slaves were treated badly. Slave owners would whip the slaves when they chose to slack off; they weren't allowed to rest. Some slaves were lucky, and had nice owners who fed and took care of them after they finished their daily jobs and routines. They were poor, so they couldn't afford anything. They had to work with little or no pay. They were also uneducated. Slaves would be prosecuted or punished severely if they were caught learning.

Most slaves worked on cotton plantations. Kids would pull weeds, feed chickens, scare crows away from the cornfields, keep hawks from stealing young chickens, pick insects off the crops, or carry water to other workers. When the child was an adult, he or she would either clear new land, plant, or harvest. Slaves who worked in the fields were called, "Field Hands." Field Hands worked longer than any other kinds of slaves. They usually worked from sunrise to sunset.
Slaves who worked in their owner's house were called, "House Slaves." House Slaves usually lived in their owner's house and worked few hours. They also had the right to do things Field Hands weren't allowed to do.

Other slaves were skilled doing carpeting. There were cabinetmakers, bricklayers, and more. Some slaves worked in factories. Other slaves became construction workers working on the canals or railroads or worked as dockworkers, lumberjacks, office workers, or riverboat pilots. Some worked in the mines.
By 1830, slavery was primarily located in the South, where it existed in many different forms. African Americans were enslaved on small farms, large plantations, in cities and towns, inside homes, out in the fields, and in industry and transportation.

Many slaves constantly talked about the possibility of escape. The main problem was having to leave family and friends. The slaves knew that if they were to be caught,their closest relatives would be severely punished.
Some whites were against slavery. They smuggled runaways into their homes and kept them there until the runaway(s) were ready to get on the road again.
Runaways often planned to go to Canada, where there was freedom. On the way to Canada, some runaways found it hard to choose an escape plan. None of them were easy. Depending upon whether it was a single person or a family with children, they had to choose carefully. Runaways traveled during the night, where they hoped slave catchers were sleeping in their warm, cozy homes. The best time for runaways to escape was in very bad weather, when those seeking to stop them would be happier inside their homes.

Often at the last minute, plans had to be changed. Runaways had to creep onto filled wagons and rode a short distance. A moving train was another possibility during the darkness of the night. Catching a boat and crawling under a canvas, hoping no one would look, was a possibility. Walking through forests at night or finding a rowboat and rowing on steams and rivers helped them move steadily northward. Most runaways learned how to follow the North Star. It guided them to the North, where they could be free.
Some runaways used the Underground Railroad as escape.The Underground Railroad was the name given to the system by which escaped slaves from the South were helped in their flight to the North. It is believed that the system started in 1787 when Isaac T. Hopper, a Quaker, began to organize a system for hiding and aiding fugitive slaves. Opponents of slavery allowed their homes, called stations, to be used as places where escaped slaves were provided with food, shelter, and money. The various routes went through 14 Northern states and Canada. It is estimated that by 1850 around 3,000 people worked on the underground railroad. Some of the most best known of the people who provided help on the route included William Still, Gerrit Smith, Salmon Chase, David Ruggle, Thomas Garrett, William Purvis, Jane Grey Swisshelm, William Wells Brown, Frederick Douglass, Henry David Thoreau, Lucretia Mott, Charles Langston, Levi Coffin, Susan B. Anthony, and Harriet Tubman.

Harriet Tubman was a runaway slave from Maryland. Over the course of 10 years, and at a great personal risk, she led hundreds of slaves to freedom along the Underground Railroad. Between 1850 and 1858, she helped more than 300 slaves reach freedom. 76% of all fugitives were under the age of 35, and 89% of them were men.

Many runaways failed to reach freedom. Many were caught and had to be punished. Slave owners took them back to their fields and whipped them. Some slave owners would carve their initials on the Africans' backs, showing that they belonged to them.

Slavery ended in 1865 with the 13th amendment. Before that, it ended in the Confederate states with the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. Sadly, people still say that slavery hasn't really ended yet. Slavery is still going on in many parts of the world.